CHAPTER CXL.

Produced by Free Elf, Joseph Cooper, David Garcia and the

Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

WORKS ISSUED BY

The Hakluyt Society.

THE LETTERS OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

FIRST SERIES. NO. XC-MDCCCXCIV

THE LETTERS OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI

AND

_OTHER DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF HIS CAREER._

Translated, with Notes and an Introduction,

BY CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, C.B., F.R.S.,

PRESIDENT OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

BURT FRANKLIN, PUBLISHER

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Published by

BURT FRANKLIN

514 West 113th Street

New York 25, N. Y.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY

REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

COUNCIL OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

Clements R. Markham, Esq., C.B., F.R.S., _Pres. R.G.S._, President.

Major-General Sir Henry Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S.,

_Associe Etranger de L'Institut de France_, Vice-President.

The Right Hon. Lord Aberdare, G.C.B., F.R.S., Vice-President.

Vice-Admiral Lindesay Brine.

Robert Brown, Esq., M.A., Ph.D.

Miller Christy, Esq.

The Hon. George N. Curzon, M.P.

The Right Hon. Sir Mountstuart E. Grant-Duff, G.C.S.I.,

_late Pres. R.G.S._

F. Ducane Godman, Esq., F.R.S.

Albert Gray, Esq.

C. P. Lucas, Esq.

A. P. Maudslay, Esq.

E. Delmar Morgan, Esq.

Captain Nathan, R.E.

Admiral Sir E. Ommanney, C.B., F.R.S.

E. A. Petherick, Esq.

S. W. Silver, Esq.

Coutts Trotter, Esq.

Prof. E. B. Tylor, D.C.L.

Captain W. J. L. Wharton, R.N.

William Foster, Esq., _Honorary Secretary_.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction i

Letter of Amerigo Vespucci to a "Magnificent Lord":

First Voyage 1

Second Voyage 21

Third Voyage 34

Fourth Voyage 52

Letter of Amerigo Vespucci to Lorenzo Pietro F. di Medici 42

Evidence of Alonso de Hojeda respecting his Voyage of 1499 30

Account of the Voyage of Hojeda, 1499-1500, by Navarrete 31

Letter of the Admiral Christopher Columbus to his Son 57

Letter of Vianelo to the Seigneury of Venice 58

Letter of Naturalization in favour of Vespucci 61

Appointment of Amerigo Vespucci as Chief Pilot 63

Chapters from Las Casas, which discuss the Statements of Vespucci:

Chapter CXL 68

" CLXIV 76

" CLXV 85

" CLXVI 86

" CLXVII 89

" CLXVIII 96

" CLXIX 101

Evidence respecting the Voyage of Pinzon and Solis 109

Las Casas (II, cap. xxxix) on the Voyage of Pinzon and Solis 111

Index 115

[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION.

The account of the alleged voyage of Amerigo Vespucci in 1497-98 was

written for that worthy's own countrymen, and for foreigners who lived at

a distance from the Peninsula. When, after some years, the story reached

Spain in print, men were still alive who would have known whether any such

voyage had ever been made. Among them was the able and impartial historian

Las Casas, who considered that the story was false, and disproved it from

internal evidence. The authority of Las Casas is alone conclusive. Modern

investigators, such as Robertson, Munoz, Navarrete, Humboldt, Washington

Irving, and D'Avezac examined the question, and they all came to the same

conclusion as Las Casas.

The matter appeared to be finally settled until 1865. In that year M.

F. de Varnhagen, Baron of Porto Seguro in Brazil, published a book at

Lima,[1] where he was accredited as Brazilian Minister, with the object of

rehabilitating the Florentine's character for honesty, by arguing that the

story of the alleged voyage in 1497-98 was worthy of credit. This makes it

desirable that the whole question should once more be discussed. Varnhagen

at least deserves the thanks of all students of the history of American

discovery for having published, in an accessible form, both the Latin

and the Italian texts of the letters of Vespucci.

It has been decided by the Council of the Hakluyt Society to supply a

volume to the members containing translations of the letters of Vespucci,

of the chapters in which they are discussed in the history of Las Casas,

and other original documents relating to the subject. Readers will thus be

enabled to form independent judgments on this vexed question; while the

Introduction will furnish them with the events of the life of Vespucci,

and with a review of the arguments in support of Varnhagen's theory,

as well as of those which militate against it.

A Life of Vespucci was published by an enthusiastic fellow-countryman

named Bandini, in 1745,[2] who collected all there is to be known

respecting his family and early life at Florence, and reprinted his

authentic letters. Canovai was another biographer, and a still warmer

panegyrist.[3]

There are three spurious letters attributed to Vespucci, but they are

now so universally held to be forgeries, that they need not occupy our

time.[4]

We learn from Bandini that Amerigo was the third son of a notary at

Florence, named Ser Nastagio (Anastasio) Vespucci, by Lisabetta Mini, and

that he was born on March 9th, 1451.[5] He was thus four years younger

than Columbus. Amerigo studied under his uncle, Fra Giorgio Antonio

Vespucci, a Dominican monk of St. Marco, at Florence, who taught him

Latin. A letter from Amerigo to his father, in Latin, has been preserved,

dated on October 18th, 1476, at Mugello, near Trebbio, whither he had

been sent in consequence of an epidemic then raging at Florence. In the

same year the elder brother, Antonio, was sent to the University of

Pisa. He was a scholar and an author. His eldest son, Bartolomeo, rose

to be Professor of Astrology at Pisa, and left a son. His second son,

Giovanni, eventually joined his uncle Amerigo in Spain, and became a

pilot. The other brother, Geronimo, went as a merchant to Syria, where

he lost all he had made after nine years of labour. This is stated in

a letter to Amerigo, dated July 24th, 1489, which was brought to Italy

by a priest named Carnesecchi, who was returning.

Amerigo Vespucci embraced a mercantile life at Florence,[6] and was

eventually taken into the great commercial house of the Medici, the head

of which was Lorenzo Piero Francesco di Medici, who succeeded his father,

Lorenzo the Magnificent, in 1492. The house had transactions in Spain,

and required experienced agents at Cadiz. Amerigo, who was then over

forty years of age, and Donato Niccolini were selected for this duty,

and took up their residence at Cadiz and Seville in 1492. In December

1495, an Italian merchant, named Juanoto Berardi, died at Seville, and

Vespucci was employed to wind up his affairs. This Berardi had contracted,

on April 9th, 1495, to supply the Government with twelve vessels of 900

tons each for the Indies.[7] He handed over the first four in the same

April, four more in June, and the rest in September, but unluckily the

four last were wrecked before delivery.[8] On the 10th of April 1495,

the Spanish Government broke faith with Columbus, and contrary to the

concession made to him, free navigation was allowed to the Indies,

on condition that the ships sailed from Cadiz, and were registered

as submitting to certain engagements as regards the State. Gomara,

an unreliable authority, alleges that many vessels took advantage of

this concession. It is likely enough that some were sent on commercial

ventures, but it is grossly improbable that any discoveries of importance

were made and left entirely unrecorded. The Admiral remonstrated against

the infraction of his rights, and the order of April 10th, 1495, was

cancelled on June 2nd, 1497.

During this period Vespucci was engaged at Cadiz as a provision

contractor. A record is preserved of his having received 10,000 maravedis

from Treasurer Pinelo on January 12th, 1496, for payment of sailors'

wages; and we learn from Munoz that other entries[9] prove that Vespucci

continued his business of provision merchant at least until May 1498. He

contracted for one, if not for two, of the expeditions of Columbus. A

very civil and plausible man was this beef contractor, and the Admiral

spoke of him, seven years afterwards, as being very respectable (_hombre

muy de bien_).

In 1499, the very respectable contractor, who was approaching the age of

fifty, determined to retire from business and go to sea. His own reasons

for this complete change in his old age were that he had already seen

and known various changes of fortune in business; that a man might at

one time be at the top of the well and at another be fallen and subject

to losses; and that it had become evident to him that a merchant's life

was one of continual labour, with the chance of failure and ruin. It

was rather late in life to make these discoveries, and it may fairly

be suspected that there was some more concrete reason for his change of

life which he concealed under these generalities.

The expedition in which Vespucci sailed was organised and fitted out

by Alonzo de Hojeda in 1499. Columbus, having discovered the island

of Trinidad and the mainland of South America on the 31st of July

1498, arrived at San Domingo in the end of August. In October he sent

five ships to Spain with the news of the discovery, a chart of the

new coast-line and islands, and a report containing mention of the

existence of pearls. These precious documents fell into the hands of

Bishop Fonseca, who showed them to Hojeda, a man whom he favoured. The

Bishop suggested that his _protege_ should equip an expedition to reap

all the advantages to be derived from the discoveries of the Admiral,

and granted him a licence. Hojeda was nothing loth, but he was in want of

funds, and only succeeded in fitting out four vessels by promising shares

of the expected profits to persons in Seville and Cadiz who would advance

money. Vespucci seems to have been one of these promoters of Hojeda's

voyage. Las Casas supposes that he was taken on board as a merchant who

had contributed to the expenses, and also possibly on account of his

theoretical knowledge of cosmography, of which he doubtless made the most.

As there is no doubt that Vespucci wrote the famous letters from Lisbon,

we may gather some idea of the man from their contents. He was fond

of airing his classical knowledge, though it was a mere smattering;

for he thought that Pliny was the contemporary of Mecaenas,[10] and

that the sculptor Policletus was a painter.[11] On the other hand he

quotes Petrarch, and gives a correct reference to a passage in Dante's

_Inferno_.[12] He was inaccurate in his narratives and regardless of the

truth, as was ably shown by Las Casas,[13] while he habitually assumed the

credit of work which belonged to his superiors; and pretended to knowledge

and influence which he could never have possessed.[14] Though externally

civil and obliging, he harboured jealousy and hatred in his heart,[15]

and was disloyal towards the men under whom he served.[16] Of his natural

ability there can be no doubt. He wrote well, and some of his stories

are capitally told.[17] He must have been a plausible talker, so that,

by such men as Fonseca and Peter Martyr, the theoretical pretender was

taken at the value he put upon himself, and was believed to be a great

pilot and navigator.[18]

He was certainly not a practical navigator, much less a pilot, as the term

was understood in those days. Hojeda, in his evidence, said that he took

with him "Juan de la Cosa, and Morigo Vespuche, and other pilots". In

this sentence the "other pilots" must be intended to be coupled with

Juan de la Cosa, not with "Morigo Vespuche". A man of fifty years of

age could not go to sea for the first time and be a pilot. The thing

would be absurd now, but it would be much more absurd in the fifteenth

century. With the perfectly graduated and adjusted instruments, the

facilities for calculations, and the appliances of all kinds with which

the modern navigator is supplied, the business of the sea may be learnt

more quickly than in former days. Yet no one would now dream of calling

a middle-aged man an expert navigator because he had read a book on

astronomy and made one or two voyages. In the fifteenth century the

instruments were of the roughest kind, and much more depended on the

skill and intuitive instincts of the seaman himself, qualifications

which could only be acquired by a long training and many years of

experience. Vespucci has the assurance to talk of his astrolabe and

quadrant and sea chart, and to write disparagingly of the trained

pilots of whom he was jealous.[19] But his own writings make it clear

to any seaman that the Florentine contractor was merely a landlubber

with a smattering of Sacrobosco or some other work _De Sphaera_, which

enabled him to impose upon his brother landsmen by talking of climates,

of steering by winds, and of measuring diameters of fixed stars. Hojeda

certainly did not ship a pilot when he took Amerigo Vespucci on board,

but a very clever and very plausible landsman with a keen eye to his

own interests.

Alonzo de Hojeda left Cadiz, with four vessels, on May 20th, 1499.

Endeavouring to steer by the chart of Columbus, he made a landfall at

some distance to the south of Paria, off the mouths of the Orinoco.

Coasting along to the northward, he came to the Gulf of Paria, went out

by the Boca del Drago, and visited the island of Margarita. He then

proceeded along the coast of the continent, visited Curacoa, which he

called the "Isla de los Gigantes", and came to the Gulf of Maracaibo,

where he found a village built on piles, which was named Venezuela, or

Little Venice. His most western point was the province of Cuquibacoa and

the Cabo de la Vela. His discovery consisted of 200 leagues of coast to

the west of Paria. Along this coast Hojeda obtained gold and pearls. He

had an encounter with the natives, in which one Spaniard was killed

and about twenty wounded, the place being named "Puerto Flechado". He

refitted in a harbour where the people were friendly, and which Amerigo

considered to be the best harbour in the world. Las Casas believed this

to have been Cariaco, near Cumana. On leaving the coast Hojeda proceeded

to Espanola, where he behaved in the outrageous manner described by Las

Casas,[20] remaining two months and seventeen days, from September 5th,

1499, to November 22nd, finally visiting some islands, probably the

Bahamas,[21] and carrying off 200 natives as slaves. Hojeda returned to

Cadiz in February 1500. In the same year Juan de la Cosa, the pilot of the

expedition, compiled his famous map of the world, on which he delineated

this new coast-line from Paria to Cabo de la Vela, the extreme point

of continental land that was known up to that time. On this coast-line

he placed twenty-two names, including the Boca del Drago, Margarita,

the "Isla de los Gigantes", the Lake of Venezuela (or Little Venice),

and the Cabo de la Vela. The map of Juan de la Cosa is important when

we come to the consideration of the statements in the letters of Vespucci.

The Florentine, on his return from this voyage, took up his residence

at Seville. Here, according to his own account, he received a message

from the King of Portugal, asking him to come to Lisbon. The bearer of

the message was a countryman of his own, named Giuliano di Bartolomeo

di Giocondo, and Vespucci would have us believe that the King attached

importance to his entering the Portuguese service. The Visconde de

Santarem has searched the archives in the Torre do Tombo at Lisbon, and

all the Portuguese documents in Paris, without once meeting with the

name of Vespucci. This absence of all official allusion to him points

to the conclusion that he never held any important position as pilot or

commander. He asserts that he joined a Portuguese expedition of discovery

along the coast of Brazil, which sailed on March 10th, 1501, and returned

on September 7th, 1502.[22] In the following March or April (1503)

he addressed a letter to the head of the mercantile house to which he

had belonged, Lorenzo Piero Francesco di Medici, giving his account of

the voyage. On May 10th, 1503, he sailed from Lisbon on another voyage,

returning on June 28th, 1504.

In the following September he finished writing the famous letter

containing an account of his alleged four voyages. The original Italian

version was sent to a magnificent Lord, who is supposed to have been Piero

Soderini, Gonfaloniere of Florence in 1504; and a French translation

was sent to Rene, Duke of Lorraine. Soon afterwards Vespucci left the

Portuguese service and returned to Spain.

In February 1505, the Admiral, Christopher Columbus, was laid up with

an illness at Seville, while his brother and his son Diego were at

court. Vespucci, having returned to Spain from Lisbon, went to pay his

respects to the great discoverer, and the Admiral entrusted him with a

letter to his son. "The bearer of this letter", wrote Columbus, "is going

to court on matters relating to navigation. He always showed a desire to

please me, and he is a very respectable man. Fortune has been adverse

to him, as to many others. His labours have not been so profitable to

him as might have been expected. He leaves me with the desire to do

me service, if it should be in his power." Vespucci had evidently been

complaining to the Admiral that his Portuguese service had been a failure,

and had brought him no profit. He went on to the court of Ferdinand,

and soon obtained employment; receiving letters of naturalisation on

the 24th of April 1505[23]; but there is no record of his ever having

been of any service to the Admiral. He was very plausible, and knew how

to ingratiate himself with men in power. It was intended to send him on

a voyage of discovery with Vicente Yanez Pinzon, and in 1506 and 1507

he was engaged in purchasing provisions for the voyage; but the idea of

despatching this expedition was abandoned in 1508.[24]

It has been supposed, from a sentence in a letter from Hieronimo Vianelo,

the Venetian Ambassador, dated at Burgos on December 23rd, 1506, that

Vespucci accompanied Juan de la Cosa on a voyage of discovery to the

Indies during that year.[25] "The two ships have arrived from the Indies

which went on a voyage of discovery under Juan Biscaino and Almerigo

Fiorentino." But Vianelo must have been misinformed. There are documentary

proofs that Vespucci was in Spain until August 1506. It is highly

probable that the voluble Florentine retailed the story of Juan de la

Cosa's voyage in such a way as to give Vianelo the impression that the

narrator took part in it himself. The story of the voyage, as we find it

in the letter of the Venetian Ambassador, is quite in Vespucci's manner.

On the 6th of August 1508, Amerigo Vespucci received the appointment of

Chief Pilot (_Piloto Mayor_) of Spain, with a salary of 75,000 maravedis

a year.[26] The "Real Titulo", or commission, is a curious and very

interesting document. He is ordered to prepare an authoritative chart,

called a "Padron General", on which all discoveries are to be shown,

and whence the charts for all ships are to be copied; and he is also

to examine all pilots in the use of the astrolabe and quadrant, and

to give instruction in his house at Seville. Vespucci was able to give

theoretical instruction in cosmography; although a man who first went

to sea when he was nearly fifty, and who had only made three voyages,

could not be an experienced pilot. With such experts as Juan de la Cosa,

Juan Diaz de Solis, Vicente Pinzon, and others, available, it was indeed

a strange selection. But Ferdinand and Fonseca were notorious for their

bad appointments. Columbus was sent home in chains, Blasco Nunez de Balboa

was beheaded; while high places, for which they were more or less unfit,

were entrusted to Ovando, Bobadilla, Pedrarias, and Vespucci.

Vespucci held the appointment of Chief Pilot until the 22nd of February

1512, when he died at Seville, aged 61. He had married a Spaniard

named Maria Cerezo, but left no children. His widow received a pension

of 10,000 maravedis,[27] to be paid out of the salary of her husband's

successor,[28] Juan Diaz de Solis. Vespucci left his papers to his nephew

Giovanni, son of his brother Antonio, who received the appointment of a

royal pilot, with a salary of 20,000 maravedis, on May 22nd, 1512.[29]

He went as chief pilot in the expedition of Pedrarias Davila in 1514;

and is mentioned as a royal pilot in 1515 and 1516. In 1524 he was a

member of the Badajoz Commission, but was dismissed in March 1525.

This is all that is known of the life of Amerigo Vespucci, beyond what

is contained in his own letters, which we will now proceed to consider

in detail.

Of the two letters of Vespucci that have been preserved, the earliest

was written from Lisbon in March or April 1503, and was addressed to

Lorenzo Piero Francesco di Medici. The original Italian text is lost, but

it was translated into Latin by "Jocundus Interpreter", who is supposed

to have been the same Giuliano di Bartolomeo di Giocondo who brought

the invitation to Vespucci to come to Portugal in 1501.[30] The letter

describes the voyage of discovery sent from Lisbon in May 1501, in which

Vespucci alleged that he took part. He alludes to a previous letter

in which he had fully described "the new countries", and continues:

"it is lawful to call it a new world, because none of these countries

were known to our ancestors, and to all who hear about them they will

be entirely new." He does not mention the name of the commander of the

expedition, and assumes all the glory of the discovery for himself. "_I_

have found a continent in that southern part more populous and more

full of animals than our Europe or Asia or Africa."[31] Moreover, the

safety of the ships, their navigation across the ocean, their escape

from perils, were all due to this wonderful beef contractor, if we are

to believe his own account. "If my companions had not trusted in me,

to whom cosmography was known, no one, not the leader of our navigation,

would have known where we were after running five hundred leagues." He

goes on to tell us that his "knowledge of the marine chart, and the rules

taught by it, were more worth than all the pilots in the world".[32]

After relating some fictitious stories about the natives and their

cannibalism, and giving a glowing but vague account of the vegetation,

he concludes with some absurd remarks about the stars of the southern

hemisphere, which he has the assurance to tell us were measured by him

to see which was the largest. The letter concludes with the statement

that this was his third voyage, as he had made two by order of the King

of Spain. This is the first intimation of a design to make two voyages

out of the Hojeda expedition, one of which was to precede the Admiral's

discovery of the mainland. He also announces his intention of collecting

all the wonderful things he had seen into a cosmographical book, that

his record may live with future generations, intending to complete it,

with the aid of friends, at home. The letter shows the character of the

man, and how little reliance can be placed on his statements.

The letter to Medici was printed very soon after it was written. The

first issue, entitled _Mundus Novus_, consisting of four 4to leaves,

and the second, _Epistola Albericij de Novo Mundo_, are without place

or date. A copy of the third, printed at Augsburg in 1504, and entitled

_Mundus Novus_, is in the Grenville Library. Then followed two others,

and the sixth issue was the early Paris edition of Jean Lambert, a copy

of which is in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Another Paris edition, nearly

as old, is in the Grenville Library. In 1505, an issue, entitled _De Ora

Antarctica_, and edited by Ringmann, appeared at Strasbourg. The letter

was also included in the book of voyages, _Paesi novamente retrovati_,

printed at Vicenza in 1507, where it was called _Novo Mondo da Alb.

Vesputio_. It was thus widely circulated over Europe, and Vespucci

obtained the credit of discoveries made by the unnamed Portuguese

commander. The title, _Novus Mundus_, is taken from the opening boast

of his letter, that it is lawful to call the discovery _a new world_

because no one had ever seen it before. It was thus that Vespucci got

his name connected, throughout Europe, with the discovery of a New World,

and this prepared the way for the proposal to give it the name of America!

The more important letter of Vespucci, containing the account of

his alleged four voyages, was written in September 1504, a short

time before he left Portugal. A copy, in French, was sent to Rene

II, Duke of Lorraine, while the Italian original was addressed to a

"Magnificent Lord", who is supposed, with much probability, to have

been Piero Soderini, the Gonfaloniere of Florence from 1502 to 1512.

Vespucci speaks of him as having been his schoolfellow, and as being, at

the time the letter was written, in a high official position at Florence.

The French copy was translated into Latin, and published at St. Die in

April 1507, in the _Cosmographiae Introductio_, a rare little book by the

Professor of Cosmography at the University of St. Die in Lorraine, named

Martin Waldzeemueller, who used the _nom de plume_ of Hylacomylus. The

Italian version was also printed at an early date, a little volume in

quarto of thirty-two pages, without place or year. It is excessively rare,

only four copies being known to exist. One belonged to Baccio Valori,

and from it Bandini published a new edition in 1745. It was afterwards

the property of the Marchese Gino Capponi. The second belonged to Gaetano

Poggiale of Leghorn, and is now in the Palatine Library at Florence. The

third is in the Grenville Library. The fourth belonged to the Carthusian

Monastery at Seville, and was bought by Varnhagen in 1863 at Havanna.[33]

The Medici letter, and both the Latin and Italian versions of the Soderini

letter, are given by Varnhagen in his work on Vespucci.

There are forty-four words or expressions of Spanish or Portuguese origin

in the Italian version,[34] which Vespucci must have got into the habit

of using during his long residence in Spain, even when writing in his

own language. Twelve of these refer to things belonging to the sea or

ships,[35] an indication that Vespucci was ignorant of maritime affairs

before he went to sea with Hojeda in 1499. But the Hispanicisms also show

that the letter to Soderini was written by an Italian who had lived for

several years among Spaniards. Vespucci answers to this description. He

had been ten years in Spain or Portugal, or in Spanish or Portuguese

ships, when he composed the letter to Soderini.

The feature in Vespucci's letters that has struck nearly all the students

who have examined them, is their extraordinary vagueness. Not a single

name of a commander is mentioned, and in the account of the two Spanish

voyages there are not half-a-dozen names of places. The admirers of

Vespucci explain this away by pointing out that he was corresponding

with a friend, and only wrote what was likely to amuse him; and that he

refers to a book he had written for fuller details. This might explain

many omissions, but it is scarcely sufficient to account for the absolute

silence respecting commanders and comrades, whom it would be as natural

to mention as dates or the number of ships, and quite as entertaining.

This extraordinary silence can really be accounted for only by the

assumption that no real names could be made to fit into the facts as he

gave them. This is, no doubt, the true explanation.

The "book" is referred to in four places in the Soderini letter, and

once in the Medici letter. In one place Vespucci says: "In these four

voyages I have seen so many things different from our customs that I have

written a book to be called _The Four Voyages_, in which I have related

the greater part of the things that I saw, very clearly and to the best

of my ability. I have not yet published it, because my own affairs are in

such a bad state that I have no taste for what I have written, yet I am

inclined to publish it. In this work will be seen every event in detail,

so I do not enlarge upon them here."[36] A little further on he says:

"In each of my voyages I have noted down the most remarkable things,

and all is reduced to a volume, in the geographical style, entitled _The

Four Voyages_, in which all things are described in detail; but I have

not yet sent out a copy, because it is necessary for me to revise it."[37]

According to these two statements the book had been actually written, but

not yet revised or shown to anyone. He also speaks of his observations

of fixed stars as being in his _Four Voyages_.[38] But towards the end

of the letter he says that he refrains from recounting certain events,

because he reserves them for his _Four Voyages_; and in the Medici

letter he speaks of "completing his work in consultation with learned

persons and aided by friends, when he should return home."[39] From

these passages the most probable conclusion is, that this book was never

actually written, but that Vespucci intended to write such a work when he

retired to Florence. He, however, never returned home. He went to Spain

and obtained lucrative employment there, and the idea of writing a book

was abandoned. He would not have dared to publish the story of his first

voyage in a country where the truth was well known.

The statement made by Vespucci respecting his alleged first voyage is as

follows: He says that an expedition of discovery was sent by the King,

consisting of four ships, and that the King chose him to go with it. He

does not mention the name of the commander of the expedition, nor of

any of the captains or pilots; but he asserts that he was away eighteen

months, and that he discovered a great extent of mainland and an infinite

number of islands. The ships, he alleges, sailed from Cadiz on the 10th

of May 1497, and proceeded to Grand Canary, which he says is in 37 deg. 30'

N. lat., and 280 leagues from Lisbon. Thence they sailed for thirty-seven

days on a W.S.W. course, making 1,000 leagues, when they reached the coast

of the mainland in latitude 16 deg. N., and longitude from Canary 70 deg. W.

He describes the manners and customs of the people in considerable detail,

and enumerates the animals, giving a particular account of the _iguana_,

but without giving the animal a name. He also tells us that the native

names for their different kinds of food are _Yuca_, _Casabi_, and

_Ignami_; and that the word for a man of great wisdom is _Carabi_. He

describes a village with forty-four large huts built over the water on

poles, like a little Venice.

After sailing for eighty leagues along the coast he came to another

province, of which he gives the name. It is _Parias_ in the Latin version,

but in the Italian version _L_ has been substituted for _P_, and a _b_

for _s_, so that the word becomes _Lariab_. Then comes the audacious

assertion to which all this was leading. He says that he sailed along

the coast, always on a N.W. course, for 870 leagues. At the end of this

marvellous voyage he came to "the finest harbour in the world", where he

found a friendly people, and remained to refit for thirty-seven days. Here

the natives complained that they were subject to attacks from savage

people who came from islands at a distance of about 100 leagues to the

east. The Spaniards agreed to chastise the islanders, and after sailing

N.E. and E. for 100 leagues they came to islands where the natives were

called _Iti_. They had an encounter with them, in which one Spaniard

was killed and twenty-two were wounded. But they took 222 prisoners,

and sold them as slaves when they returned to Cadiz on October 15th, 1498.

Vespucci's account of the second voyage is that the expedition, consisting

of three ships, sailed from Cadiz on May 16th, 1499, and stopped some

days at the island of Fuoco. They then crossed the ocean after a voyage

of forty-four days, going over 500 leagues on a S.W. course. The landfall

was in 5 deg. S., and the country was inundated by the mouths of a great

river. They then steered north, and came to an excellent port formed by

a large island. He describes the chase of a canoe, manned by cannibal

people called _Cambali_; and the intercourse with inhabitants who told

them about the pearl fishery.

They next landed on an island, fifteen leagues from the land, where the

inhabitants, for want of water, chewed a green herb mixed with white

powder. Leaving this island, they came to another where the people were

so tall that it was named the _Island of the Giants_. They continued

to sail along the coast, having many encounters with the natives. They

found the latitude to be 15 deg. N., and here they came to a harbour for

repairing their ships, where the inhabitants were very friendly. They

remained forty-seven days, and collected many pearls. Departing from

this port, they shaped a course for _Antiglia_ (_Espanola_), where

they obtained supplies, remaining two months and seventeen days. Here,

he says, they endured many dangers and troubles from the same Christians

who were in this island with Columbus, and he believed this was caused

by envy. They left the island on the 22nd of July, and, after a voyage

of a month and a half, they returned to Cadiz on the 8th of September,

the year not given.

Las Casas, giving Vespucci credit for two voyages, seems to have thought

that he might have been with Hojeda again on his second voyage from

1502 to 1504. But Vespucci asserts that he was in Portugal, or serving

on board Portuguese ships, during the whole of that period.

The first voyage appears, both from internal and external evidence,

to be imaginary. The second voyage is the first of Hojeda inaccurately

told, while two or three incidents of the Hojeda voyage are transferred

to the imaginary first voyage. The assertion that the King sent an

expedition of discovery, consisting of four ships, in May 1497, is not

corroborated. There is no record of any such expedition, and there is

much collateral evidence, which will be discussed further on, that no

expedition was despatched by the King in that year. If such a royal

expedition had been despatched, with such marvellous results, Las Casas

could not have been ignorant of the fact. It has been suggested that four

out of twelve ships supplied to the King by Juanato Berardi might have

been used for this expedition, and that its despatch is not impossible,

because May 10th, 1497, the date of sailing given by Vespucci, is previous

to June 2nd, 1497, the date of the royal order cancelling permission

for private ships to go to the Indies. But the alleged expedition was

sent by the King, and was not a private one. It is more likely that

Vespucci purposely selected a date previous to June 2nd.

The voyage across the Atlantic to the mainland, in 16 deg. N., is described

by Vespucci as having been performed in thirty-seven days, with

a W.S.W. course, and a distance of 1,000 leagues. Such a course and

distance would have taken him to the Gulf of Paria, not to a coast in

latitude 16 deg. N. Even with a course direct to that point, and disregarding

the intervening land, the distance he gives would leave him 930 miles

short of the alleged position. No actual navigator would have made such a

blunder. He was quoting the reckoning from Hojeda's voyage, and invented

the latitude at random. When he came to his second voyage, to make a

difference, he halved the distance, saying that he was forty-four days

going 500 leagues on a S.W. course. He also gives 15 deg. as the latitude

of the coast discovered when he was with Hojeda, though no part of that

coast is north of 13 deg. His crowning statement that, starting from 23 deg.

N., he went 870 leagues along a coast always on a N.W. course, is still

more preposterous. Such a course and distance would have taken him right

across the continent of North America into British Columbia.

Varnhagen accepts the Florentine's latitudes, and assumes that when in

23 deg. N. he was near Tampico, on the coast of Mexico. But he rejects the

impossible courses and distances of Vespucci, substituting an imaginary

voyage of his own, by which he takes our contractor along the coast of

North America, round the peninsula of Florida, and up to Cape Hatteras,

where, he confesses, "the finest harbour in the world" is not to be

found. But such a voyage is a pure assumption, and as a serious argument

it is quite inadmissible. The evidence is the other way. The latitudes

are wrong, judging from the one latitude given by the Florentine in his

second voyage, while the courses and distances might be relied upon as

roughly correct if they were given by an honest man. Their absurdity

proves the imposture.

From "the best harbour in the world" Vespucci says that he went eastward

for 100 leagues to some very populous islands called _Iti_, where the

people, after severe fighting, were defeated by the Spaniards, 222 being

carried off as slaves. Having brought his _protege_ to Cape Hatteras,

Varnhagen would identify _Iti_ with Bermuda. But there were no natives

on Bermuda when it was discovered, and no indications that it had ever

been inhabited. The islands where this wholesale kidnapping took place,

if the story has any foundation in fact, were probably the Windward

Islands or the Bahamas, visited by Hojeda with this object after he

left St. Domingo. The word _Iti_ appears to have been an invention

of Vespucci: perhaps he was thinking of the old Italian form _Iti_

("gone")--which he uses in its proper sense in his second voyage--or of

_Hayti_, the native name for Espanola.

There are two, or perhaps three, incidents in the story of the alleged

first voyage which happened in the voyage when Vespucci was with Hojeda.

The first is the village built on piles over the water. Such a village

was discovered by Hojeda at the entrance of the Gulf of Maracaibo, and

called Little Venice, or Venezuela. Vespucci describes exactly the same

thing in his first voyage, but does not mention it in his second (or

Hojeda) voyage. He took it out of the real voyage in order to embellish

the imaginary one. Varnhagen argues that there might easily have been

two villages built on piles. But that is not the point. The point is,

that there is no mention of the fact in its proper place, while it

occurs in this imaginary voyage in a way that points unmistakably to the

source whence it came. Then there is "the best harbour in the world",

where there were friendly natives, and where the ships were refitted,

the duration of the stay being given as thirty-seven days in the first,

and forty-four days in the second voyage; evidently the same incident,

serving for the imaginary as well as for the real voyage. This "best

harbour in the world" was, according to Las Casas, the Gulf of Cariaco,

near Cumana, where Hojeda refitted. Lastly, there is the encounter with

natives, when one Spaniard was killed and twenty-two wounded. Vespucci

asserts that an encounter took place during his first voyage with this

number of casualties. Las Casas had seen a letter from Roldan, containing

information from Hojeda's officers, in which an encounter is mentioned

with the same casualties, one killed and about twenty wounded. Modern

critics will agree with Las Casas that this coincidence is alone

sufficient to prove the fictitious character of the first voyage of

Vespucci.

The greater part of Vespucci's narrative of his first voyage is taken

up with accounts of the manners and customs of the natives; touching

which Las Casas has made some very pertinent remarks. Many of the things

Vespucci states could not have been known to him in the few days that

he remained on the coast, because he did not know a single word of the

language, as he himself confesses. He can only be believed in those

statements based on what he actually saw or might have seen, and all

these are perfectly applicable to the natives of the coast seen during

Hojeda's voyage. The rest are pronounced by Las Casas to be all fiction;

as well as his enumeration of the animals he saw. Vespucci gives one word

in the native language--_Carabi_, meaning "a man of great wisdom". Upon

this Las Casas remarks that the Spaniards did not even know the names

for bread or for water, yet Vespucci wants us to believe that, during

the few days he remained at that place, he understood that _Carabi_

signified a man of great wisdom. He got the word, of course, from the

name of the people he heard of during the voyage of Hojeda--the Carribs,

or Canibas--and made it serve his purpose in this passage.[40]

Vespucci does not mention the names of the commanders of the expedition,

nor of any of his Spanish comrades; and he gives only one native word,

_Carabi_; three names of articles of food, _Yuca_, _Casabi_, and _Ignami_;

and two names of places, _Iti_ and _Parias_ (or _Lariab_?).

Two of the names for food, _Yuca_ and _Casabi_, belong to the language

of the Antilles, and Vespucci would have heard of them during his voyage

with Hojeda. _Ignami_ is an African word, which he would have picked up

at Lisbon. The use of the word _Yuca_, as belonging to the language of

the natives of the Mexican coast near 23 deg. N., is one more proof of the

imposture of his narrative.[41]

The name of _Parias_ requires fuller notice. It is alleged to be the

name of a province in 23 deg. N., and is thus spelt in the Latin version.

Las Casas, therefore, naturally used it as one argument against the truth

of Vespucci's narrative, for _Paria_ was well known to be a province of

the mainland opposite the island of Trinidad, discovered by Columbus. But

in the Italian version the word is _Lariab_, an _L_ being substituted

for _P_, and _b_ for _s_. Varnhagen endeavours to make a strong point

of this discrepancy. He eagerly adopts _Lariab_ as the correct form,

having found (not _Lariab_) but two words ending in _ab_ in a vocabulary

of the Huasteca Indians, whose country is near the northern frontier of

Mexico. It is impossible to ascertain, with certainty, whether _Parias_,

or _Lariab_, or either, was the word in the original manuscript of

Vespucci, which is lost. It is in favour of _Lariab_ that the Italian

version was probably printed from the manuscript without previous

translation; while the version containing _Parias_ was translated into

French, and then into Latin, before it was printed. On the other hand,

there is strong reason for the belief that the editor of the Latin version

had not then heard of the particulars of the third voyage of Columbus,

or of the name of Paria.[42] In that case it could not have come into

his head to print _Parias_ for _Lariab_, and consequently _Parias_ was

the original form, and _Lariab_ a misprint of the Italian version. On the

whole, _Parias_ is probably correct; but the question is not important,

because the evidence against Vespucci is quite sufficient without the

_Parias_ argument.

The internal evidence against the authenticity of the first voyage is

conclusive. It satisfied the impartial and acute historian Las Casas

at the time, and has not been shaken by the arguments of Varnhagen,

who did not adduce any new facts. But the external evidence is even

stronger. It was evident to Varnhagen that it was a necessity of his

argument that an expedition should be provided, with which Vespucci might

have sailed. Without vessels and a commander there could have been no

voyage. These essentials have been furnished by the rehabilitator of

Vespucci with some audacity. It was recorded by Las Casas and Herrera

that, after the return of Columbus from his last voyage in 1505, an

expedition to follow up his discoveries was fitted out by Vicente Yanez

Pinzon, Juan Diaz de Solis, and Pedro de Ledesma, and that they discovered

the coast of Yucatan. Herrera gives the date 1506; but the real date

was 1508, as given by Peter Martyr.[43] The authority for the narratives

of Las Casas and Herrera is the evidence given by Pinzon, Ledesma, and

others, in the Columbus lawsuit. Peter Martyr, however, collected his

information on the subject independently. Varnhagen suggests that these

navigators did not undertake their voyage, in 1508, after the return of

Columbus, but in 1497, and that this was the first voyage of Vespucci.

The arguments for this alteration of eleven years in the date of a voyage

of discovery are slight indeed. Oviedo, in his _History of the Indies_,

wrote that the pilots Pinzon, Solis, and Ledesma discovered the Honduras

coast with three vessels, before Pinzon was off the mouth of the Amazon,

which was in 1499; and Gomara has the following passage: "but some say

that Pinzon and Solis had been on the Honduras coast three years before

Columbus." These writers were unscrupulous, and hostile to Columbus.

It requires somewhat bold assurance to give the date of 1497 to the

Pinzon and Solis voyages on the strength of these passages. Oviedo

indeed puts Vespucci out of court at once, for he says that Pinzon,

Solis, and Ledesma sailed with three vessels; while Vespucci asserts

that in his first voyage there were four vessels. Moreover, Ledesma,

who was pilot and captain of one of the vessels, was a lad of 21 in 1497,

and could not have been in such a position; but in 1508, when the Pinzon

and Solis expedition really sailed, he was of a suitable age.[44]

Although the expedition of Pinzon, Solis, and Ledesma certainly did

not take place in 1497, there has always been some obscurity attending

its history, which has only recently been cleared up through the

able researches of Mr. Harrisse.[45] The confusion has arisen from

discrepancies between the evidence given by Pinzon and Ledesma in the

Columbus lawsuit. Pinzon said that he reached the island of Guanaja in the

Gulf of Honduras, and then followed the coast east as far as the provinces

of Chabaca and Pintigron, and the mountains of Caria (Paria?). But

Ledesma said that they went north from the island of Guanaja, came to

Chabaca and Pintigron, and reached a point as far north as 23-1/2 deg.

Here there is clearly a mistake, one going east and the other north,

yet both coming to Chabaca and Pintigron. It can only be decided whether

the mistake is in the evidence of Pinzon or of Ledesma by ascertaining

the positions of Chabaca and Pintigron; and the explanation is afforded

by Peter Martyr in his second _Decade_.[46] He there says that Pinzon

turned his course to the east ("towards the left hand") towards Paria,

where princes came to him named Chiauaccha[47] and Pintiguanus. Ledesma's

northerly course was either a falsehood, as Mr. Harrisse rather hastily

assumes, or a clerical or printer's error. The only voyage of Pinzon and

Solis took place in 1508,[48] and was from the Gulf of Honduras eastward

to Paria.

There was no voyage of discovery sent by the King in 1497. When

Diego Columbus instituted the lawsuit to recover his father's rights,

the Crown lawyers turned every stone for evidence that others made

discoveries besides the Admiral. The lawsuit lasted from 1508 to 1527.

If an expedition sent by the King in 1497 had discovered 870 leagues of

new coast-line, it is incredible that the proofs would not then have

been forthcoming, when many of those who took part in the expedition

must have been alive, and there was not only no reason for secrecy,

but the strongest motive for publicity.

When the evidence respecting Pinzon and Solis was taken in 1516, Vespucci

had been dead some years. He had never ventured to publish his letter in

Spain; but Fernando Columbus purchased a copy at Rome and added it to his

library at Seville in 1515, three years after Vespucci's death. If the

first voyage had not been known to be a fabrication, the letter would

have been eagerly brought forward as evidence of extensive discoveries

not made by the Admiral. For by that time other copies, besides the one

in Fernando's library, had probably reached Spain.

Then there is the negative evidence of maps. Juan de la Cosa drew his

famous map of the world in 1500, after serving in the voyage of Hojeda,

in company with Vespucci. He placed flags on the discovered parts, and

one on each of the farthest known points. There is a Spanish flag at

Cabo de la Vela, the extreme point then known in South America, another

at the extreme point reached by Columbus on the north coast of Cuba,

and an English flag at the extreme point reached by Cabot. A conjectural

line runs round from the last English to the first Spanish flag, and

there is no sign of the alleged Vespucci discoveries. If it is suggested

that the Florentine himself kept them secret, without any conceivable

object for doing so, there were all his companions to proclaim them,

and there must have been an official report. If those 870 leagues of

coast had been discovered, the discovery must have been shown on the

map of Juan de la Cosa.

The Cantino map furnishes additional evidence against Vespucci of

an interesting kind. This map of the world was compiled for the Duke

of Ferrara by order of Alberto Cantino, to illustrate the voyages of

Corte Real. It was drawn by a Portuguese draughtsman at Lisbon, and was

finished in the autumn of 1502, having been paid for in November of that

year. On the Cantino map, the coast-line discovered by Hojeda in 1499 is

shown. It is not copied from the map of Juan de la Cosa, for most of the

names are different[49]; but the information must have been supplied by

some one who was in Hojeda's expedition. Vespucci was in Lisbon in the

autumn of 1502; it is, therefore, almost certain that this coast-line

was laid down from information supplied by Vespucci.[50] If Vespucci,

in 1497, had discovered a coast-line between 16 deg. and 23 deg. N., and another

coast-line extending from 23 deg. N. for 870 leagues N. W., these marvellous

discoveries would also appear on the Cantino map. But there is not a sign

of them. We may conclude from this that Vespucci had not yet conceived

the idea of the fictitious voyage of 1497, when he assisted Cantino's

draughtsman in the autumn of 1502. The imposture is first hinted at some

six months afterwards in the Medici letter of March 1503. Peter Martyr

gives corroborative evidence that Vespucci assisted the Portuguese

cartographer. He says that he visited Bishop Fonseca, and was shown

"many of those mappes which are commonly called the shipman cardes,

or cardes of the sea: of the which, one was drawen by the Portugales,

wherunto Americus Vesputius is said to have put his hande, beinge a man

experte in this facultie, and a Florentine borne."[51]

Further evidence against Vespucci is furnished by the map which was

prepared in 1511 to illustrate Peter Martyr's _Decades_. This author was

personally acquainted with Vespucci, who was then chief pilot of Spain,

and was intimate with his nephew Giovanni. Yet there is not a sign of

Vespucci's alleged discoveries in 1497 on the map of 1511. There was no

motive for secrecy on the part of Vespucci, or on the part of the captains

and pilots of the four ships; on the contrary, their interest was to

make the discoveries public and get credit for them. Bermuda appears

for the first time on the map of 1511, having been discovered by Juan

Bermudez. But there is no mention of _Iti_. In this same year, Ponce

de Leon obtained a concession for the discovery of that very coast of

Florida which, according to Varnhagen, had been discovered in its whole

extent by Vespucci fourteen years before. The concession was actually

made on the condition that the coast had not been discovered before, and

Vespucci was then chief pilot. It is incredible that Vespucci and all his

companions should have combined to conceal their wonderful discoveries

without any conceivable reason, their silence being most injurious to

themselves. It is still more incredible that the King should have put

such a condition into the concession to Ponce de Leon, if it was true

that the coast in question had been discovered fourteen years before by

an expedition despatched by himself.

The evidence against Vespucci is cumulative and quite conclusive. His

first voyage is a fabrication. He cannot be acquitted of the intention

of appropriating for himself the glory of having first discovered the

mainland. The impartial and upright Las Casas, after carefully weighing

the evidence, found him guilty. This verdict has been, and will continue

to be, confirmed by posterity. He wished to glorify himself in his own

country, whither he intended to retire, and throughout Europe. But he

did not dare to publish his fiction in Spain, and, so far as we know,

it did not reach Spain in print until after his death. He wrote well,

and his stories about a new world excited the enthusiasm of those who

read them. His Latin editor suggested that his new world should be called

America, and the name was adopted by map-makers. It was euphonious and

convenient, and, in spite of the protests of Las Casas and Herrera, it

eventually became general, and Vespucci usurped the honours that rightly

belonged to Columbus. Vespucci may be acquitted of having contemplated

so great an injustice. It is possible that he never intended that his

letters should be published. He may only have desired to increase his

consequence among his own countrymen. But whatever his intention may

have been, he committed a fraud with a dishonest purpose, and it is no

extenuation that he did not contemplate the full extent of the injustice

it has caused.

The investigation of Vespucci's statements contained in the first and

second voyages destroys all confidence in his unsupported word, when we

proceed to examine his account of the voyages alleged to have been made

by him in Portuguese ships.

There is no mention either of Vespucci or of Giocondi, who is alleged

to have brought him the invitation from the King to come to Portugal,

either in the voluminous Portuguese archives, or in the contemporary

chronicle of Damian de Goes. This remarkable silence points to the

conclusion that if Vespucci was really in any Portuguese expedition he

can only have filled some very subordinate post; probably sailing as a

merchant or a volunteer.[52]

Vespucci has given us two accounts of his alleged first voyage with

the Portuguese, which he calls his third voyage. The Medici letter

is entirely devoted to it, while it is also included in the Soderini

letter. The dates and figures seldom agree in the two letters, and

there is evidence throughout them of the random way in which he wrote,

and of his disregard for truth or accuracy. Sailing with three vessels,

on the 10th of March 1501 according to one letter, and on the 15th

according to the other, they came to a place called Bezeguiche, or

Beseghir,[53] on the west coast of Africa, which Vespucci identifies

as Cape Verd, and places in 14 deg. 30' N. in one letter, and in 13 deg.

within the Tropic in the other.[54] Thence they sailed across the ocean

for sixty-seven days, or sixty-three days, on a S.W. 1/4 S. course for

700 leagues, reaching the coast on the 7th or 17th of August, in 5 deg.

S. latitude. In the Soderini letter there is a story of Portuguese being

murdered and eaten; but in the Medici letter there is nothing but friendly

intercourse with the natives, with a long account of their manners and

customs, obviously as fictitious as those in the first voyage which were

commented upon by Las Casas. Among the plants he saw, Vespucci gives

the names of four: cannafistula, Brazil wood, cassia, and myrrh.

From the landfall they sailed eastward for (150) 300 leagues, to a point

of land which was named Cape St. Augustine, and then south and west as

far as 52 deg. S. Vespucci alleges that the command of the fleet was given

to him, and that he continued a southerly course. In the Medici letter

he says that he went south until he was 17 deg. 30' from the Antarctic

Pole, or in 73 deg. 30' S., which is preposterous. In the Soderini letter

he reached only 52 deg. S., got into a gale of wind, sighted some land with

a rocky coast, and ran along it for 20 leagues.[55] Thence the ships

shaped a homeward course, reached Sierra Leone on June 10th--where one

vessel was condemned as unseaworthy, and burnt--the Azores in the end

of July, and Lisbon on September 7th, 1502. Both letters contain some

absurd remarks about the stars in the southern hemisphere, and one has

a long explanation how two men, one in 39 deg. N. and another in 50 deg. S.,

would be standing at right angles to each other.

The second voyage of Vespucci from Lisbon; which he calls his fourth

voyage, was undertaken for the discovery of Malacca, which he believed

to be in 33 deg. S. latitude, instead of 2 deg. 14' N. latitude, its real

position. This is a pretty considerable error! The narrative is full of

spiteful and vindictive remarks about the commander of the expedition,

whose name is not given.[56] One vessel was lost off an island which

appears to have been Fernando Noronha, and two others, with Vespucci,

reached the coast of Brazil and entered a harbour, which was named Bahia

do todos os Santos. They then sailed along the coast for 260 leagues,

where they found another harbour in 18 deg. S. Here they built a fort, and,

leaving a garrison, returned to Lisbon on June 18th, 1504.

The two Portuguese voyages may be authentic, though the absence of all

names, and the silence of the Lisbon archives touching Vespucci, make it

impossible to identify them. The careless and unreliable way in which

Vespucci tells his story renders it worse than useless to speculate

on any of the details, beyond the fact that the Portuguese commanders

appear to have explored a considerable part of the coast of Brazil. Any

theory based on the latitudes given by Vespucci would only mislead,

for, when the places to which they refer can be identified, they are

wrong, and when given in both the letters, they differ. The letter

describing the four voyages was not written for readers acquainted with

the history and progress of discovery, not for Spaniards or Portuguese,

but for the Medicis and Soderinis, the Waldseemuellers and Ringmanns,

to whom these tales were new, wonderful, and mysterious. Accuracy and

truth were of no consequence so long as they believed in Amerigo Vespucci

as the discoverer of the New World and its marvels.

The tales of Amerigo Vespucci have a place in the history of

geographical discovery, and require, although they do not deserve,

serious consideration; the more so as they have, in recent years, been

treated seriously by a learned and accomplished writer such as Varnhagen,

who has been followed by one or two eminent and well-known men of letters.

It is, therefore, proper that translations of the letters should be

printed by the Hakluyt Society, and that their merits should be fully

discussed.

In addition to the two letters of Vespucci, the present volume contains

the evidence taken in the Columbus lawsuit bearing on the subject, the

chapters in the history of Las Casas in which the veracity of Vespucci is

discussed, the narrative of the voyage of Hojeda from Navarrete, and some

other documents throwing light on the career of the Florentine adventurer.

[Illustration]

LETTER OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI

ON THE ISLANDS NEWLY DISCOVERED IN HIS FOUR VOYAGES.

FIRST VOYAGE OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI.[57]

[Illustration]

Magnificent Lord.[58] I submit humble reverence to you and offer due

recommendations. It may be that your Magnificence will be astonished

at my temerity that I should dare so absurdly to write the present

long letter to your Magnificence, knowing that your Magnificence is

constantly occupied in the high councils and affairs touching the lofty

Republic. And I may be considered not only presumptuous but also idle

in writing things not convenient to your condition nor agreeable, and

written in a barbarous style. But as I have confidence in your virtues

and in the merit of my writing, which is touching things never before

written upon either by ancient or modern writers, as will be seen, I

may be excused by your Magnificence. The principal thing that moved me

to write to you was the request of the bearer, who is named Benvenuto

Benvenuti, our Florentine, who is very much the servant of your

Magnificence, as he tells me, and a great friend of mine. He, finding

himself here in this city of Lisbon, requested me to give an account

to your Magnificence of the things by me seen in different parts of the

world, during the four voyages that I have made to discover new lands; two

by order of the Catholic King Ferdinand, by the Great Gulf of the Ocean

Sea towards the west, the other two by order of the powerful King Manoel

of Portugal, towards the south. He assured me that you will be pleased,

and that in this I might hope to serve you. It was this that disposed me

to do it, being assured that your Magnificence would include me in the

number of your servants, remembering how, in the time of our youth, I was

your friend, and now your servant, going together to hear the principles

of grammar under the good life and doctrine of the venerable religious

friar of St. Mark, Friar Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, whose counsels and

doctrine, if it had pleased God that I had followed, I should have been

another man from what I am, as Petrarch says. _Quomodocunque sit_, I am

not ashamed, because I have always taken delight in virtuous things. Yet

if these my frivolities are not acceptable to your virtue, I will reflect

on what Pliny said to Maecenas, "Formerly my witticisms used to entertain

you." It may be that, though your Magnificence is continually occupied

with public affairs, you may find an hour of leisure, during which you

can pass a little time in frivolous or amusing things, and so, as a

change from so many occupations, you may read this my letter. For you

may well turn for a brief space from constant care and assiduous thought

concerning public affairs.

Your Magnificence must know that the motive of my coming into this

kingdom of Spain was to engage in mercantile pursuits, and that I was

occupied in such business for nearly four years, during which I saw

and knew various changes of fortune. As these affairs of commerce are

uncertain, a man being at one time at the top of the well, and at another

fallen and subject to losses, and as the continual labour that a man is

exposed to who would succeed, became evident to me, as well as exposure

to dangers and failures, I decided upon leaving the mercantile career,

and upon entering on one that would be more stable and praiseworthy. I

was disposed to see some part of the world and its wonders.

Time and opportunity offered themselves very conveniently. The King Don

Fernando of Castille,[59] having ordered four ships to be dispatched for

the discovery of new lands towards the west, I was chosen by his Highness

to go in this fleet to help in the discovery. I left the port of Cadiz on

the 10th of May[60] 1497, and we took our way for the Great Gulf of the

Ocean Sea, on which voyage I was engaged for eighteen months, discovering

a great extent of mainland, and an infinite number of islands, most of

them inhabited, of which no mention had been made by ancient writers, I

believe because they had not any clear information. If I remember rightly,

I have read somewhere that this Ocean Sea was without inhabitants. Our

poet Dante was of this opinion, in the 26th chapter of the _Inferno_,

where he treats of the death of Ulysses.[61] In this voyage I saw many

wonderful things, as your Magnificence will understand. As I said before,

we left the port of Cadiz in four ships, and began our navigation to the

Fortunate Islands, which are now called the Grand Canaria, situated in

the Ocean Sea, on the confines of the inhabited west, within the third

climate.[62] Over which place the Pole rises from the north, above the

horizon 27 deg. and a half, and it is distant from this city of Lisbon 280

leagues,[63] between south and south-west. Here we staid for eight days,

providing ourselves with wood, water, and other necessaries. From thence,

having offered our prayers, we weighed, and spread our sails to the

wind, shaping our course to the west, with a point to south-west.[64]

Our progress was such that at the end of thirty-seven days[65] we reached

land which we judged to be the mainland, being distant from the island of

Canaria, more to the west, nearly 1,000 leagues,[66] outside that which

is inhabited in the Torrid Zone. For we found the North Pole was above

its horizon 16 deg.; and more to the westward than the island of Canaria,

according to the observations with our instruments 70 deg.[67]

We anchored with our ships at a distance of a league and a half from the

shore. We got out the boats, and, filled with armed men, we pulled them

to the shore. Before we arrived we had seen many men walking along the

beach, at which we were much pleased; and we found that they were naked,

and they showed fear of us, I believe because we were dressed and of

a different stature. They all fled to a hill, and, in spite of all the

signs of peace and friendship that we made, they would not come to have

intercourse with us. As night was coming on, and the ship was anchored

in a dangerous place, off an open unsheltered coast, we arranged to get

under weigh the next day, and to go in search of some port or bay where

we could make our ships secure. We sailed along the coast to the north,

always in sight of land, and the people went along the beach. After

two days of navigation we found a very secure place for the ships,

and we anchored at a distance of half a league from the land, where we

saw very many people. We went on shore in the boats on the same day,

and forty men in good order landed. The natives were still shy of us,

and we could not give them sufficient confidence to induce them to come

and speak with us. That day we worked so hard with this object by giving

them our things, such as bells, looking-glasses, and other trifles, that

some of them took courage and came to treat with us. Having established

a friendly understanding, as the night was approaching we took leave of

them, and returned on board. Next day, at dawn, we saw that there were

an immense number of people on the beach, and that they had their women

and children with them. We went on shore, and found that they all came

laden with their food supplies, which are such as will be described in

their place. Before we arrived on shore, many of them swam out to receive

us at a cross-bow shot's distance; for they are great swimmers, and they

showed as much confidence as if we had been having intercourse with them

for a long time; and we were pleased at seeing their feelings of security.

What we knew of their life and customs was that they all go naked, as well

the men as the women, without covering anything, no otherwise than as they

come out of their mothers' wombs. They are of medium stature, and very

well proportioned. The colour of their skins inclines to red, like the

skin of a lion, and I believe that, if they were properly clothed, they

would be white like ourselves. They have no hair whatever on their bodies,

but they have very long black hair, especially the women, which beautifies

them. They have not very beautiful faces, because they have long eyelids,

which make them look like Tartars. They do not allow any hairs to grow on

their eyebrows, nor eyelashes, nor in any other part except on the head,

where it is rough and dishevelled. They are very agile in their persons,

both in walking and running, as well the men as the women; and think

nothing of running a league or two, as we often witnessed; and in this

they have a very great advantage over us Christians. They swim wonderfully

well, and the women better than the men; for we have found and seen them

many times two leagues at sea, without any help whatever in swimming.

Their arms are bows and arrows, well made, except that they have no iron,

nor any other kind of hard metal. Instead of iron they use teeth of

animals or of fish, or a bit of wood well burnt at the point. They are

sure shots, and where they aim they hit. In some places the women use

these bows. They have other weapons like lances, hardened by fire, and

clubs with the knobs very well carved. They wage war among themselves with

people who do not speak their language, carrying it on with great cruelty,

giving no quarter, if not inflicting greater punishment. When they go to

war they take their women with them; not because they fight, but because

they carry the provisions in rear of the men. A woman carries a burden on

her back, which a man would not carry, for thirty or forty leagues, as we

have seen many times. They have no leader, nor do they march in any order,

no one being captain. The cause of their wars is not the desire of rule

nor to extend the limits of their dominions, but owing to some ancient

feud that has arisen among them in former times. When asked why they

made war, they have no other answer than that it is to avenge the death

of their ancestors and their fathers. They have neither king nor lord,

nor do they obey anyone, but live in freedom. Having moved themselves to

wage war, when the enemy have killed or captured any of them, the oldest

relation arises and goes preaching through the streets and calling upon

his countrymen to come with him to avenge the death of his relation,

and thus he moves them by compassion. They do not bring men to justice,

nor punish a criminal. Neither the mother nor the father chastise their

children, and it is wonderful that we never saw a quarrel among them. They

show themselves simple in their talk, and are very sharp and cunning

in securing their ends. They speak little, and in a low voice. They use

the same accents as ourselves, forming their words either on the palate,

the teeth, or the lips, only they have other words for things. Great is

the diversity of languages, for in a hundred leagues we found such change

in the language that the inhabitants could not understand each other.

Their mode of life is very barbarous, for they have no regular time for

their meals, but they eat at any time that they have the wish, as often

at night as in the day--indeed, they eat at all hours. They take their

food on the ground, without napkin or any other cloth, eating out of

earthen pots which they make, or out of half calabashes. They sleep in

certain very large nets made of cotton,[69] and suspended in the air;

and if this should seem a bad way of sleeping, I say that it is pleasant

to sleep in that manner, and that we slept better in that way than

in coverlets.[70] They are a people of cleanly habits as regards their

bodies, and are constantly washing themselves. When they empty the stomach

they do everything so as not to be seen, and in this they are clean and

decent; but in making water they are dirty and without shame, for while

talking with us they do such things without turning round, and without

any shame. They do not practise matrimony among them, each man taking as

many women as he likes, and when he is tired of a woman he repudiates her

without either injury to himself or shame to the woman, for in this matter

the woman has the same liberty as the man. They are not very jealous,

but lascivious beyond measure, the women much more so than the men. I do

not further refer to their contrivances for satisfying their inordinate

desires, so that I may not offend against modesty. They are very prolific

in bearing children, and in their pregnancy they are not excused any work

whatever. The parturition is so easy, and accompanied by so little pain,

that they are up and about the next day. They go to some river to wash,

and presently are quite well, appearing on the water like fish. If they

are angry with their husbands they easily cause abortion with certain

poisonous herbs or roots, and destroy the child. Many infants perish in

this way. They are gifted with very handsome and well-proportioned bodies,

and no part or member is to be seen that is not well formed. Although

they go naked, yet that which should be concealed is kept between the

thighs so that it cannot be seen. Yet there no one cares, for the same

impression is made on them at seeing anything indecent as is made on

us at seeing a nose or mouth. Among them it is considered strange if

a woman has wrinkles on the bosom from frequent parturition, or on the

belly. All parts are invariably preserved after the parturition as they

were before. They showed an excessive desire for our company.

We did not find that these people had any laws; they cannot be called Moors

nor Jews, but worse than Gentiles. For we did not see that they offered any

sacrifices, nor have they any place of worship. I judge their lives to be

Epicurean. Their habitations are in common. Their dwellings, are like huts,

but strongly built of very large trees, and covered with palm leaves,

secure from tempests and winds. In some places they are of such length

and width that we found 600 souls in one single house. We found villages

of only thirteen houses where there were 4,000 inhabitants. They build

the villages every eight or ten years, and when asked why they did this,

they replied that it was because the soil was corrupted and infected, and

caused diseases in their bodies, so they chose a new site. Their wealth

consists of the feathers of birds of many colours, or "paternosters" made

of the fins of fishes, or of white or green stones, which they wear on

their necks, lips, and ears; and of many other things which have no value

for us. They have no commerce, and neither buy nor sell. In conclusion,

they live, and are content with what nature has given them.

They have none of the riches which are looked upon as such in our Europe

and in other parts, such as gold, pearls, or precious stones: and even

if they have them in their country, they do not work to get them. They

are liberal in their giving, for it is wonderful if they refuse anything,

and also liberal in asking, as soon as they make friends. Their greatest

sign of friendship is to give their wives or daughters, and a father

and mother considered themselves highly honoured when they brought us a

daughter, especially if she was a virgin, that we should sleep with her,

and in doing this they use terms of warm friendship.

When they die they use several kinds of burial. Some bury their dead

with water and food, thinking they will want it. They have no ceremonies

of lights, nor of weeping. In some other places they practise a most

barbarous and inhuman kind of interment. This is that when a sick or

infirm person is almost in the throes of death, his relations carry him

into a great wood, and fasten one of those nets in which they sleep to

two trees. They put their dying relation into it, and dance round him

the whole of one day. When night comes on they put water and food enough

for four or six days at his head, and then leave him alone, returning

to their village. If the sick man can help himself, and eats and lives

so as to return to the village, they receive him with ceremony, but few

are those who escape. Most of them die, and that is their sepulchre. They

have many other customs, which are omitted to avoid prolixity. In their

illnesses they use various kinds of medicines, so different from ours

that we marvelled how anyone escaped. I often saw a patient ill with

fever, when the disease was at its height; bathed with quantities of

cold water from head to foot. Then they made a great fire all round,

making him turn backwards and forwards for two hours until he was tired,

and he was then left to sleep. Many were cured. They also attend to the

diet, keep the patient without food, and draw blood, not from the arm,

but from the thighs and loins, and from the calves of the legs. They

also provoke vomiting by putting one of their herbs into the mouth, and

they use many other remedies which it would take long to recount. They

abound much in phlegm and in blood, on account of their food, which

consists of roots, fruit, and fish. They have no sowing of grain, nor of

any kind of corn. But for their common use they eat the root of a tree,

from which they make very good flour, and they call it _Iuca_.[71]

Others call it _Cazabi_[72] and _Ignami_.[73] They eat little flesh,

unless it be human flesh, and your Magnificence must know that they

are so inhuman as to transgress regarding this most bestial custom. For

they eat all their enemies that they kill or take, as well females as

males, with so much barbarity that it is a brutal thing to mention,

how much more to see it, as has happened to me an infinite number of

times. They were astonished at us when we told them that we did not eat

our enemies. Your Magnificence may believe for certain that they have

many other barbarous customs, for in these four voyages I have seen so

many things different from our customs that I have written a book,[74]

to be called THE FOUR VOYAGES, in which I have related the greater part

of the things I saw, very clearly and to the best of my abilities. I have

not yet published it, because my own affairs are in such a bad state

that I have no taste for what I have written, yet I am much inclined

to publish it. In this work will be seen all the events in detail, I

therefore do not enlarge upon them here. For in the course of the said

work we shall see many other special details; so this will suffice for

what is general. In this beginning I did not see anything of much value

in the land except some indications of gold. I believe that this was

because we did not know the language, and so we could not benefit by the

resources of the land.

We resolved to depart and to proceed onwards, coasting along the land; in

which voyage we made many tacks, and had intercourse with many tribes. At

the end of certain days we came to a port where we were in the greatest

danger, and it pleased the Lord to save us. It was in this way. We went

on shore in a port where we found a village built over a lake, like

Venice. There were about forty-four large houses founded on very thick

piles, and each had a drawbridge leading to the door. From one house

there was a way to all the rest by drawbridges which led from house to

house. The people of this little city showed signs that they were afraid

of us, and suddenly they rose all at once. While looking at this wonder,

we saw about twenty-two canoes coming over the sea, which are the sort of

boats they use, hollowed out of a single tree. They came to our ships,

as if to gaze with wonder at us and our clothes, but they kept at a

distance. Things being so, we made signs to them to come to us, giving

them assurances of friendship. Seeing that they did not come we went to

them, but they did not wait for us. They went on shore, and made signs

to us that we should wait, and that they would soon return. They went

straight to a hill, and were not long before they came back, leading with

them sixteen of their young girls. They got into the canoes and came to

the ships, and in each ship they put four, and we were as much surprised

at such a proceeding as your Magnificence will be. They were amongst our

ships with the canoes, speaking with us. We looked upon this as a sign

of friendship. Presently a number of people came swimming over the sea,

and approached us without our feeling any suspicion whatever, having

come from the houses. Then certain old women appeared at the doors

of the houses, uttering great cries and tearing their hair in sign

of grief. This made us suspect something, and each man seized his

arms. Suddenly the young girls who were on board jumped into the sea,

and those in the canoes came nearer, and began to shoot with their bows

and arrows. Those who were swimming had each brought a lance, concealed

under the water as much as possible. As soon as we understood the

treachery we not only defended ourselves from them, but also attacked

them vigorously and sank many of their canoes with our ships. Thus we

routed and slaughtered them, and all took to swimming, abandoning their

canoes. Having thus suffered enough damage, they swam to the land. Nearly

fifteen or twenty of them were killed, and many were wounded. Of our

men five were wounded, and all escaped, thanks to God. We captured two

girls and two men. We went to their houses and entered them, but only

found two old women and one sick man. We took many of their things,

but they were of little value. We would not burn their houses, because

we felt compunctions of conscience. We returned to our ships with five

prisoners, and put irons on the feet of each, except the girls. On the

following night the two girls and one of the men escaped with great

cunning. Next day we decided upon continuing our course onwards.

We sailed constantly along the coast, and came to another tribe, distant

about 80 leagues from the one we had left, and very different both as

regards language and customs. We came to an anchor, and went on shore in

the boats, when we saw that a great number of people were on the beach,

upwards of 4,000 souls. They did not wait for our landing, but took

to flight, abandoning their things. We jumped on shore, and went along

a road which led to the woods. At the distance of a cross-bow shot we

found their huts, where they had made very large fires, and two were

there cooking their food, and roasting animals and fish of many sorts.

Here we saw that they were roasting a certain animal like a serpent,

except that it had no wings, and its appearance was so horrid that many

of us wondered at its fierceness. We walked to their houses or sheds,

and they had many of these serpents alive, fastened by their feet and

with a cord round the snout, so that they could not open their mouths, as

is done to pointers,[75] to prevent them from biting. Their aspect was so

fierce that none of us dared to go near one, thinking they were poisonous.

They are the size of a young goat, and a fathom and a half long. They

have long and thick feet, armed with large claws, the skin hard and of

various colours. The mouth and face are like those of a serpent. They

have a crest like a saw, which extends from the nose to the end of the

tail. We concluded that they were serpents and poisonous, yet they eat

them.[76] We found that the natives made bread of small fishes, which

they take from the sea, first boiling them, then pounding them into a

paste, and roasting them in the cinders, and so they are eaten. We tried

them, and found them good. They have so many other kinds of food, and a

greater number of fruits and roots, that it would take long to describe

them in detail. Seeing that the people did not come back, we determined

not to touch any of their things, to give them more confidence. We also

left many of our own things in their huts, that they might see them,

and at night we returned to the ships. Next day, at dawn, we saw an

immense crowd of people on the beach, so we went on shore. When they

again showed fear we reassured them, and induced them to treat with us,

giving them everything they asked for. When they became friendly they

told us that those were their habitations, and that they were come to

fish. They asked us to come to their villages that they might receive

us as friends. They showed such friendship because of the two men we

had prisoners, who were their enemies. Seeing their importunity, and

after a consultation, we decided that twenty-eight of our Christians,

in good order, should go with them, with the firm intention to die if

it should be necessary. When we had been there nearly three days we

went with them into the interior. At a distance of three leagues from

the beach we came to a village of few houses and many inhabitants,

there not being more than nine habitations. Here we were received with

so many barbarous ceremonies that the pen will not suffice to write

them down. There were songs, dances, tears mingled with rejoicings,

and plenty of food. We remained here for the night. Here they offered

their wives to us, and we were unable to defend ourselves from them. We

remained all night and half the next day. The multitude of people who came

to see us was such that they could not be counted. The older men prayed

that we would come with them to another village further in the interior,

making signs that they would show us the greatest honour. So we agreed

to go, and it cannot be expressed what great honour they showed us. We

came to many villages, and were nine days on the journey, so that our

Christians who remained on board became anxious about us. Being nearly

eighteen leagues inland in a direct line, we determined to return to the

ships. On the return journey the crowd was so great that came with us

to the beach, both of women and men, that it was wonderful. If any of

our people got tired on the way, they carried them in their nets very

comfortably. In crossing the rivers, which are numerous and very large,

they took us across by their contrivances so safely that there was no

danger whatever. Many of them came laden with the things they had given

to us, which were their sleeping-nets, most of them richly worked,

numerous parrots of various colours, many bows and arrows; while others

carried burdens consisting of their provisions and animals. What greater

wonder can I tell you than that they thought themselves fortunate when,

in passing a river, they could carry us on their backs?

Having reached the shore, we went on board the ships. They made such a

crowd to enter our ships in order to see them, that we were astonished.

We took as many as we could in the boats, and took them to the ships,

and so many came swimming that we were inclined to stop such a crowd

from being on board, more than a thousand souls, all naked and without

arms. They wondered at our arrangements and contrivances, and at the

size of the ships. There happened a laughable thing, which was that we

had occasion to fire off some of our artillery, and when the report

was heard, the greater part of the natives on board jumped overboard

from fear, and began to swim, like the frogs on the banks, which, when

they are frightened, jump into the swamp. Such was the conduct of these

people. Those who remained on board were so frightened that we were

sorry we had done it, but we reassured them by saying that we frightened

our enemies with those arms. Having amused themselves all day on board,

we told them that they must go, because we wished to depart that night;

and so they went away with much show of love and friendship, returning to

the shore. Among this tribe, and in their land, I knew and saw so much

of their customs and mode of life that I do not care to enlarge upon

them here; for your Magnificence must know that in each of my voyages

I have noted down the most remarkable things, and all is reduced into

a volume in the geographical style, entitled the FOUR VOYAGES, in which

work all things are described in detail, but I have not yet sent out a

copy, because it is necessary for me to revise it.

This land is very populous and full of people, with numerous rivers,

but few animals. They are similar to ours, except the lions, ounces,

stags, pigs, goats, and deer; and these still have some differences of

form. They have neither horses nor mules, asses nor dogs, nor any kind of

sheep, nor cattle. But they have many other animals all wild, and none

of them serve for any domestic use, so that they cannot be counted.

What shall we say of the birds, which are so many, and of so many kinds

and colours of plumage that it is wonderful to see them? The land is

very pleasant and fruitful, full of very large woods and forests, and

it is always green, for the trees never shed their leaves. The fruits

are so numerous that they cannot be enumerated, and all different from

ours. This land is within the Torrid Zone, _under the parallel which the

Tropic of Cancer describes_, where _the Pole is 23 deg. above the horizon_,

on the verge of the second climate. Many people came to see us, and were

astonished at our appearance and the whiteness of our skins. They asked

whence we came, and we gave them to understand that we came from heaven,

and that we were travelling to see the world, and they believed it. In

this land we put up a font of baptism, and an infinite number of people

were baptised, and they called us, in their language, CARABI, which is

as much as to say, "men of great wisdom."

We departed from this port. The province is called PARIAS,[77] and we

navigated along the coast, _always in sight of land, until we had run

along it a distance of 870 leagues, always towards the_ NORTH-WEST,[78]

making many tacks and treating with many tribes. In many places we

discovered gold, though not in any great quantity, but we did much in

discovering the land, and in ascertaining that there was gold. We had

now been thirteen months on the voyage,[79] and the ships and gear were

much worn, and the men tired. We resolved, after consultation, to beach

the ships and heave them down, as they were making much water, and to

caulk them afresh, before shaping a course for Spain. When we made this

decision we were near _the finest harbour in the world_, which we entered

with our ships. Here we found a great many people, who received us in

a very friendly manner. On shore we made a bastion with our boats, and

with casks and our guns, at which we all rejoiced. Here we lightened[80]

and cleared our ships, and hauled them up, making all the repairs that

were necessary, the people of the country giving us all manner of help,

and regularly supplying us with provisions. For in that port we had

little relish for our own, which we made fun of, for our provisions for

the voyage were running short, and were bad.

We remained here thirty-seven days, and often went to their village,

where they received us with great honour. When we wanted to resume our

voyage, they made a complaint how, at certain times, a very cruel and

hostile tribe came by way of the sea to their land, murdered many of

them, subdued them, and took some prisoners, carrying them off to their

own houses and land. They added that they were scarcely able to defend

themselves, making signs that their enemies were people of an island at

a distance of about 100 leagues out at sea. They said this so earnestly

that we believed them; and we promised to avenge their injuries, which

gave them much pleasure. Many of them offered to go with us, but we

did not wish to take them. We agreed that seven should accompany us,

on condition that they went in their own canoe. For we did not want to

be obliged to take them back to their land; and they were content. So

we took leave of those people, leaving many friends among them.

Our ships having been repaired, we navigated for seven days across the

sea, with the _wind_[81] between north-east and east, and at the end

of the seven days we came upon the islands, which were numerous, some

inhabited and others deserted. We anchored off one of them, where we saw

many people, who called it _Iti_.[82] Having manned our boats with good

men, and placed three rounds of the bombard in each, we pulled to the

shore, where we found 400 men and many women, all naked. They were well

made, and seemed good fighting men, for they were armed with bows and

arrows, and lances. The greater part of them also had square shields,

and they carried them so that they should not impede their using the

bow. As we approached the shore in the boats, at the distance of a

bowshot, they all rushed into the water to shoot their arrows, and to

defend themselves from us they returned to the land. They all had their

bodies painted with different colours, and were adorned with feathers. The

interpreters told us that when they showed themselves plumed and painted,

it is a sign that they intend to fight. They so persevered in defending

the landing that we were obliged to use our artillery. When they heard

the report, and saw some of their own people fall dead, they all retreated

inland. After holding a consultation, we resolved to land forty of our

men, and await their attack. The men landed with their arms, and the

natives came against us, and fought us for nearly an hour,[83] gaining

little advantage, except that our cross-bow men and gunners killed

some of the natives, while they wounded some of our people. They would

not wait for the thrust of our spears or swords, but we pushed on with

such vigour at last that we came within sword-thrust, and as they could

not withstand our arms, they fled to the hills and woods, leaving us

victorious on the field, with many of their dead and wounded. We did not

continue the pursuit that day, because we were very tired. In returning

to the ships, the seven men who came with us showed such delight that

they could not contain themselves.

Next day we saw a great number of the people on shore, still with signs

of war, sounding horns and various other instruments used by them for

defiance, and all plumed and painted, so that it was a very strange thing

to behold them. All the ships, therefore, consulted together, and it

was concluded that these people desired hostility with us. It was then

decided that we should do all in our power to make friends with them,

and if they rejected our friendship we should treat them as enemies,

and that we should make slaves of as many as we could take. Being armed

as well as our means admitted, we returned to the shore. They did not

oppose our landing, I believe from fear of the guns. Forty of our men

landed in four detachments, each with a captain, and attacked them. After

a long battle, many of them being killed, the rest were put to flight.

We followed in pursuit until we came to a village, having taken nearly

250 prisoners.[84] We burnt the village and returned to the ships with

these 250 prisoners, leaving many killed and wounded. On our side

no more than _one was killed, and twenty-two were wounded_, who all

recovered. God be thanked! We prepared to depart, and the seven men,

five of whom were wounded, took a canoe belonging to the island, and

with seven prisoners that we gave them, four women and three men, they

returned to their land with much joy, astonished at our power. We made

sail for Spain with 222 prisoners,[85] our slaves, and arrived in the

port of Cadiz on the 15th of October 1498, where we were well received,

and where we sold our slaves. This is what befell me in this my first

voyage, that was most worthy of note.

THE FIRST VOYAGE ENDS.

* * * * *

SECOND VOYAGE OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

As regards the second voyage, what I saw in it most worthy of mention is

as follows: We left the port of Cadiz, with three ships,[86] on the 16th

of May 1499, and shaped our course direct for the Cape Verde islands,

passing in sight of the island of Grand Canary; and we navigated until

we reached an island which is called the island of FUOCO. Here we got

in our supplies of wood and water, and thence shaped our course to the

south-west. In forty-four days we came in sight of a new land, and we

judged it to be the mainland, continuous with that of which mention has

already been made. This land is within the Torrid Zone, and beyond the

equinoctial line on the south side, over which the Pole rises from the

meridian 5 deg., beyond every climate. It is distant from the said islands

by the S.W. wind[87] 500 leagues. We found the day and night to be equal,

because we arrived on the 27th of June, when the sun is near the tropic

of Cancer. We found this land to be all drowned, and full of very great

rivers. At first we did not see any people. We anchored our ships and

got our boats out, going with them to the land, which, as I have said,

we found to be full of very large rivers, and drowned by these great

rivers. There we tried in many directions to see if we could enter;

and owing to the great waters and rivers, in spite of so much labour,

we could not find a place that was not inundated.

We saw, along the rivers, many signs of the country being inhabited; but

having ascertained that we could not enter from this part, we determined

to return to the ships, and to try another part. We weighed our anchors,

and navigated between the east south-east, coasting along the land,

which trended southwards, and many times we made forty leagues, but

all was time lost. We found on this coast that the current of the sea

had such force that it prevented us from navigating, for it ran from

south to north. The inconvenience was so great for our navigation that,

after a consultation, we decided upon altering the course to north,

and we made good such a distance along the land, that we reached a most

excellent port, formed by a large island, which was at the entrance.[88]

Within, a very large haven was formed.

In sailing along the island to enter it we saw many people, and we steered

our ships so as to bring them up where the people were seen, which

was nearly four leagues more towards the sea. Sailing in this way we

had seen a canoe, which was coming from seaward, with many people on

board. We determined to overhaul her, and we went round with our ships

in her direction, so that we might not lose her. Sailing towards the

canoe with a fresh breeze, we saw that they had stopped with their oars

tossed--I believe, with wonder at the sight of our ships. But when they

saw that we were gaining upon them, they put down their oars, and began

to row towards the land. As our company came in a fast-sailing caravel

of forty-five tons, we got to windward of the canoe, and when it seemed

time to bear down upon her, the sheets were eased off so as to come near

her; and as the caravel seemed to be coming down upon her, and those

on board did not wish to be caught, they pulled away to leeward, and,

seeing their advantage, they gave way with their oars to escape. As

we had our boats at the stern well manned, we thought we should catch

the canoe. The boats chased for more than two hours, and at last the

caravel made another tack, but could not fetch the canoe. As the people

in the canoe saw they were closely pressed by the caravel and the boats,

they all jumped into the sea, their number being about seventy men; the

distance from the shore being nearly two leagues. Following them in the

boats, during the whole day, we were unable to capture more than two,

all the rest escaping on shore. Only four boys remained in the canoe,

who were not of their tribe, but prisoners from some other land. They

had been castrated, and were all without the virile member, and with

the scars fresh, at which we wondered much. Having taken them on board,

they told us by signs that they had been castrated to be eaten. We then

knew that the people in the canoe belonged to a tribe called _Cambali_,

very fierce men who eat human flesh. We came with the ship, towing the

canoe astern, approaching the land, and anchored at a distance of half

a league. We saw a great number of people on the beach, so we went on

shore with the boats, taking with us the two men we had captured. When we

came near all the people fled into the wood. So we released one of our

prisoners, giving him many signs that we wanted to be their friends. He

did what we wanted very well, and brought back all the people with him,

numbering about 400 men and many women, and they came unarmed to the

boats. A good understanding was established with them; we released the

other prisoner, sent to the ships for their canoe, and restored it to

them. This canoe was twenty-six _paces_ long, and two _braccia_[89]

in width, all dug out of a single tree, and very well worked. When they

had hauled it up and put it in a secure place, they all fled, and would

not have anything more to do with us; which seemed a barbarous act,

and we judged them to be a faithless and ill-conditioned people. We saw

a little gold, which they wear in their ears.

We departed and entered the bay, where we found so many people that

it was wonderful. We made friends with them, and many of us went with

them to their villages in great security. In this place we collected

150 pearls, which they gave us for a small bell, and a little gold was

given to us for nothing. In this land we found that they drank wine made

from their fruits and seeds, like beer, both white and red. The best was

made from plums,[90] and it was very good. We ate a great many of them,

as they were in season. It is a very good fruit, pleasant to the taste,

and wholesome for the body. The land abounds in their articles of food,

and the people are of good manners, and the most peaceful we have yet met

with. We were seventeen days in this port, enjoying it very much, and

every day new people from the interior came to see us, wondering at our

faces and the whiteness of our skins, at our clothes and arms, and at the

shape and size of our ships. From these people we had tidings that there

was another tribe to the westward who were their enemies, and who had

an immense quantity of pearls. Those which they possessed had been taken

in their wars. They told us how they were fished, and in what manner the

pearls were born, and we found their information to be correct, as your

Magnificence will hear.

We left this port and sailed along the coast, always seeing people on

the beach, and at the end of many days we came to in a port, by reason of

the necessity for repairing one of our ships, which made much water. Here

we found many people, but were unable, either by force or persuasion, to

establish any intercourse with them. When we went on shore they opposed

the landing fiercely, and when they could do no more they fled into the

woods and did not wait for us. Seeing that they were such barbarians we

departed thence, and, sailing onwards, we came in sight of an island

which was fifteen leagues from the land. We decided upon going to see

whether it was inhabited. We found on it the most bestial and the most

brutal race that has ever been seen, and they were of this kind. They

were very brutish in appearance and gesture, and they had their mouths

full of the leaves of a green herb, which they continually chewed like

beasts, so that they could hardly speak; and each had round his neck

two dry gourds, one full of that herb which they had in their mouths,

and the other of white flour that appeared to be powdered lime. From

time to time they put in the powder with a spindle which they kept wet

in the mouth. Then they put stuff into their mouths from both, powdering

the herb already in use. They did this with much elaboration; and the

thing seemed wonderful, for we could not understand the secret, or with

what object they did it.[91]

These people, when they saw us, came to us with much familiarity, as

if we had formed friendship with them. Walking with them on the beach

and talking, being desirous of drinking fresh water, they made signs

that they had none, and offered their herb and powder; from which we

concluded that the island was ill-provided with water, and that they

kept this herb in their mouths to keep off thirst. We walked over the

island for a day and a half, without finding a spring of water, and

we saw that the water they drank was what had fallen during the night

on certain leaves which looked like ass's ears, and held the water,

and of this they drank. It was excellent water; and these leaves are

not found in many places. They had no kind of meat,[92] and no roots,

as on the mainland. They were sustained by fish caught in the sea,

of which they had great abundance, and they were very good fishermen.

They gave us many turtles, and many large and excellent fish. Their women

did not have the herb in their mouths like the men, but they all carried

a gourd with water, from which they drank. They have no villages nor

houses, but merely live under bowers of leaves, which shade them from

the sun, though not from the rain. But I believe that it seldom rains

on that island. When they are fishing out at sea they all have a very

large leaf, and of such width that it forms a shade. As the sun rises,

so they raise the leaf, and thus they protect themselves from the sun.

The island contains many animals of various sorts, and much water in

swamps, and seeing that it offered no profit whatever, we departed and

went to another island. We found that this other island was inhabited by

very tall people. We landed to see whether there was any fresh water,

and not thinking it was inhabited, as we had not seen anyone, we came

upon very large foot-marks in the sand, as we were walking along the

beach. We judged that if the other measurements were in proportion to

those of their feet, they must be very tall. Going in search, we came

into a road which led inland. There were nine of us. Judging that there

could not be many inhabitants, as the island was small, we walked over

it to see what sort of people they were. When we had gone[93] about a

league we saw five huts, which appeared to be uninhabited, in a valley,

and we went to them. But we only found five women, two old, and three

children of such lofty stature that, for the wonder of the thing, we

wanted to keep them. When they saw us they were so frightened that they

had not the power to run away. The two old women began to invite us with

words, and to set before us many things, and took us into a hut. They

were taller than a large man who may well be tall, such as was Francesco

degli Albizi, but better proportioned. Our intention was to take the young

girls by force, and to bring them to Castille as a wonderful thing. While

we were forming this design there entered by the door of the hut as many

as thirty-six men, much bigger than the women, and so well made that

it was a rare thing to behold them. They, in like manner, put us into

such a state of perturbation that we rather wished we were on board,

than having dealings with such people. They carried very large bows and

arrows, and great clubs with knobs. They talked among themselves in a

tone as if they wished to destroy us. Seeing ourselves in such danger,

we made various suggestions one to another. Some proposed that we should

attack them in the hut, and others said that it would be better to do so

outside, while others advised that we should not take any action until

we saw what the natives were going to do. We at last agreed to go out of

the hut, and walk away in the direction of the ships as if nothing had

happened, and this we did. Having taken our route to return to the ships,

they also came along behind us at a distance of about a stone's-throw,

talking among themselves. I believe they had not less fear of us than we

of them; for sometimes we stopped to rest, and they did so also without

coming nearer. At last we came to the beach, where the boats where

waiting for us. We got in, and, when we were some way from the shore,

the natives rushed down and shot many arrows; but we then had little

fear of them. We replied with two bombard-shots, more to frighten them

than to do them harm. They all fled into the woods, and so we took leave

of them, thankful to escape after a dangerous adventure. They all went

naked like the others. We called this island _the Island of the Giants_,

by reason of their stature.[94]

We proceeded onwards along the coast, and there happened to be combats

with the natives many times, because they did not wish us to take

anything from the land. At length we became desirous of returning to

Castille, having been on the sea for nearly a year[95] and the provisions

being nearly exhausted, the little that remained being damaged by the

heat.

For from the time that we left the islands of Cape Verde until now, we

had been continually navigating within the Torrid Zone, and twice we

had crossed the equinoctial line; for, as I said before, we went 5 deg.

beyond it to the south, and now we were in 15 deg.[96] to the north. Being

in this state of mind, it pleased the Holy Spirit to give us some rest

from our great hardships; for as we were searching for a port in which

to repair our ships, we came upon a people who received us with much

friendship. We found that they had a very great quantity of oriental

pearls, and exceedingly good ones. We stayed with them forty-seven days,

and obtained from them 119 marcs of pearls for very little merchandise

in exchange. I believe the pearls did not cost us the value of forty

ducats. What we gave them was nothing but bells, and looking-glasses, and

beads,[97] and ten bells, and tin foil. For one bell a native gave all

the pearls he had. Here we learnt how they fished for them, and where,

and they gave us many shells in which they are born. We bartered for a

shell in which were born 130 pearls, and in others less. This one of 130

the Queen took, and others I put aside that they might not be seen. Your

Magnificence must know that if the pearls are not mature, and are not

detached, they soon perish, and of this I have had experience. When they

are mature, they are detached in the shell, and are placed among the

flesh. These are good. When they were bad the greater part were cracked

and badly bored. Nevertheless they are worth a good deal of money when

sold in the market.

At the end of forty-seven days we took leave of these very friendly

natives. We departed, and, for the sake of obtaining many things of which

we were in need, we shaped a course for the island of _Antiglia_,[98]

being that which Christopher Columbus discovered a few years ago. Here

we took many supplies on board, and remained two months and seventeen

days.[99] Here we endured many dangers and troubles from the same

Christians who were in this island with Columbus. I believe this was

caused by envy; but to avoid prolixity, I will refrain from recounting

what happened. We departed from the said island on the 22nd of July,[100]

and after a voyage of a month and a half, we entered the port of Cadiz

on the 8th of September,[101] being my second voyage. God be praised.

END OF THE SECOND VOYAGE.

* * * * *

EVIDENCE OF ALONSO DE HOJEDA

(_Respecting his Voyage of 1499-1500_).

_Alonzo de Hojeda_ gave evidence that the true reply to the question is,

that this witness is the said Hojeda, who was the first man that went

to make discoveries after the said Admiral, and that he discovered the

mainland to the south and coasted it for nearly 200 leagues to Paria,

and went out by the "Boca del Drago", and there he knew that the Admiral

had been at the island of Trinidad, near the "Boca del Drago", and that

he went on and discovered the coast of the mainland as far as the Gulf

of Pearls and the island of Margarita, where he landed, because he knew

that the Admiral had only sighted it, and thence he proceeded to discover

all the coast of the mainland from "Los Frayles" to the "Islas de

los Gigantes", the Gulf of Venecia, which is on the mainland, and the

provinces of Quinquilacoa. On all that land, from 200 leagues beyond

Paria, and from Paria to the Pearls, and from the Pearls to Quinquilacoa,

which this witness discovered, no one else had discovered or touched at,

neither the Admiral nor any other person, and in this voyage the said

witness took with him Juan de la Cosa and Morigo Vespuche, and other

pilots, and this witness was despatched for this voyage by order of

the said Don Juan de Fonseca, Bishop of Palencia, by order of their

Highnesses.[102]

* * * * *

VOYAGE OF HOJEDA, 1499-1500.

(_From Navarrete_, iii, pp. 3-11.)

In December 1498 the news arrived of the discovery of Paria. The splendid

ideas of the discoverer touching the beauty and wealth of that region

were presently made known, and the spirit of maritime enterprise was

revived with renewed vigour. Some of those who had sailed with the

Admiral, and had benefited by his instruction and example, solicited and

obtained from the Court licences to discover, at their own proper cost,

the regions beyond what was already known, paying into the Treasury a

fourth or fifth part of what they acquired.

The first who adventured was Alonso de Hojeda, a native of Cuenca.

Owing to his energy and the favour of the Bishop Don Rodriguez de Fonseca,

he soon collected the funds and the crews necessary for the equipment of

four vessels in the Port of Santa Maria, where Juan de la Cosa resided,

a great mariner according to popular ideas, and not inferior to the

Admiral himself in his own conceit. He had been a shipmate and pupil

of the Admiral in the expedition of Cuba and Jamaica. This man was the

principal pilot of Hojeda. They also engaged others who had been in the

Paria voyage. Among the other sharers in the enterprise, the Florentine

Americo Vespucci merits special mention. He was established in Seville,

but became tired of a mercantile life, and entered upon the study of

cosmography and nautical subjects, with the desire of embracing a more

glorious career. Perhaps this passion was excited by intercourse with the

Admiral in the house of Juan Berardi, a merchant, and also a Florentine,

and owing to his having become acquainted through this house with the

armaments and provisions for the Indies, so that he desired to place

his services at the disposal of the commander of the present enterprise.

With such useful companions Hojeda put to sea on the 18th[103] or the 20th

of May 1499.[104] They touched at the Canaries, where they took in such

supplies as they needed, and entered on the ocean voyage from Gomera,

following the route of the last voyage of the Admiral, for Hojeda was in

possession of the marine chart which Columbus had drawn. At the end of

twenty-four days they came in sight of the continent of the new world,

further south than the point reached by the Admiral, and apparently on

the coast of Surinam. They sailed along in sight of the coast for nearly

200 leagues, from the neighbourhood of the equator to the Gulf of Paria,

without landing. In passing, besides other rivers, they saw two very

large ones which made the sea water to be fresh for a long distance,

one coming from south to north, which should be the river now called

Essequibo in Dutch Guiana, and which was for some time called the _Rio

Dulce_. The course of the other was from west to east, and may have

been the Orinoco, the waters of which flow for many leagues into the sea

without mixing with the salt water. The land on the coast was, generally,

low and covered with very dense forest. The currents were exceedingly

strong towards the N. E., following the general direction of the coast.

The first inhabited land seen by our navigators was the island of

Trinidad, on the south coast of which they saw a crowd of astonished

people watching them from the shore. They landed at three different places

with the launches well provisioned, and twenty-two well-armed men. The

natives were Caribs, or Cannibals, of fine presence and stature, of great

vigour, and very expert in the use of bows and arrows, and shields, which

were their proper arms. Although they showed some reluctance to come near

the Spaniards at first, they were very soon satisfied of the friendly

intentions of the strangers, and bartered with them amicably. Thence

they entered the Gulf of Paria, and anchored near the river Guarapiche,

where they also saw a populous village of peaceful Indians near the

shore. They opened communications with the inhabitants, and, among

other presents, received from them a kind of cider made of fruits, as

well as some fruit like _mirabolans_, of exquisite flavour, and here

some pearls were obtained. They saw parrots of various colours; and they

parted company with these people on friendly terms. Hojeda says that they

found traces of the Admiral having been in the island of Trinidad, near

the Dragon's Mouth, which circumstance was carefully omitted by Vespucci.

Having passed the mouth of the terrible strait, Hojeda continued his

discovery along the coast of the mainland as far as the Gulf of Pearls

or Curiana, visiting and landing on the island of Margarita, which is

in front, as he knew that Columbus had only sighted it in passing. In

passing he noticed the islets called _Los Frailes_, which are nine miles

to the east, and north of Margarita, and the rock _Centinela_. Thence he

stood in shore by the cape _Isleos_ (now called _Codera_), anchoring in

the road which he called _Aldea vencida_. He continued to coast along

from port to port, according to the expression of the pilot Morales,

until he reached the _Puerto Flechado_, now _Chichirivichi_, where he

seems to have had some encounter with the Indians, who wounded twenty-one

of his men, of whom one died, as soon as he was brought to be cured,

in one of the coves that are between that port and the _Vela de Coro_,

where they remained twenty days. From this place they shaped a course

for the island of Curacoa, which they called _Isla de los Gigantes_,

where Americo supposed there was a race of uncommon stature. Perhaps

he did not understand the expressions of horror with which the natives

referred to the Caribs, and this sufficed to make Vespucci assert that he

had seen Pontasiloas and Antaeus.[105] They then crossed to a land which

they judged to be an island, distant ten leagues from Curacoa, and saw

the cape forming a peninsula, which they named _San Roman_, probably

because it was discovered on the 9th of August, on which the feast of

that saint is kept. Having rounded the cape, they entered a great gulf,

on the eastern side of which, where it is shallow and clear of rocks,

they saw a great village, with the houses built over the water, on piles

driven into the bottom, and the people communicated from one to the other

in canoes. Hojeda named it the Gulf of Venice, from its similarity to

that famous city in Italy. The Indians called it the Gulf of Coquibacoa,

and we know it now as the Gulf of Venezuela. They explored the interior,

and discovered, as it would seem, on the 24th of August, the lake and port

of San Bartolome,[106] now the lake of Maracaibo, where they obtained

some Indian women of notable beauty and disposition. It is certain that

the natives of this country had the fame of being more beautiful and

gracious than those of any other part of that continent. Having explored

the western part of the gulf, and doubled the Cape of Coquibacoa,

Hojeda and his companions examined the coast as far as the Cabo de la

Vela, the extreme point reached in this voyage. On the 30th of August

they turned on their homeward voyage for Espanola or Santo Domingo,

and entered the port of Yaquimo on the 5th of September 1499, with the

intention of loading with brasil wood, according to what Don Fernando

Columbus says.

Here Hojeda had those disputes with Roldan which are referred to by our

historians, but, finally, with leave from that chief, Hojeda removed

his ships to Surana, in February 1500.[107] According to Vespucci, in

his letter to Medici,[108] they navigated from Espanola in a northerly

direction for 200 leagues, discovering more than a thousand islands, most

of them inhabited, which would probably be the Lucayos, although those are

not nearly so numerous. On one of these he says that they violently seized

232 persons for slaves, and that from thence they returned to Spain by the

islands of the Azores, Canary and Madeira, arriving in the Bay of Cadiz

in the middle of June 1500, where they sold many of the 200 slaves that

arrived, the rest having died on the voyage. The truth of these events

is not very certain, but it is certain that the profit of the expedition

was very small. According to the same Vespucci, deducting costs, not more

than 500 ducats remained to divide among 55 shareholders, and this when,

besides the price of the slaves, they brought home a quantity of pearls,

worthy of a place in the royal treasury, of gold and some precious stones,

but not many, for, imitating badly the acts of the Admiral, the desire to

push on for discovery was greater than that for the acquisition of riches.

* * * * *

THIRD VOYAGE OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

Being afterwards in Seville, resting from so many labours that I had

endured during these two voyages, and intending to return to the land of

pearls, Fortune showed that she was not content with these my labours.

I know not how there came into the thoughts of the Most Serene King Don

Manuel of Portugal the wish to have my services. But being at Seville,

without any thought of going to Portugal, a messenger came to me with

a letter from the Royal Crown, in which I was asked to come to Lisbon,

to confer with his Highness, who promised to show me favour. I was not

inclined to go, and I despatched the messenger with a reply that I was

not well, but that when I had recovered, if his Highness still wished

for my services, I would come as soon as he might send for me. Seeing

that he could not have me, he arranged to send Giuliano di Bartolomeo

di Giocondo for me, he being in Lisbon, with instructions that, come

what might, he should bring me. The said Giuliano came to Seville,

and prayed so hard that I was forced to go. My departure was taken ill

by many who knew me, for I left Castille where honour was done me, and

where the King held me in good esteem. It was worse that I went without

bidding farewell to my host.

When I was presented to that King, he showed his satisfaction that I had

come, and asked me to go in company with three of his ships that were

ready to depart for the discovery of new lands. As the request of a

king is a command, I had to consent to whatever he asked, and we sailed

from this port of Lisbon with three ships on the 10th of March 1501,

shaping our course direct for the island of Grand Canary. We passed

without sighting it, and continued along the west coast of Africa. On

this coast we made our fishery of a sort of fish called _parchi_. We

remained three days, and then came to a port on the coast of Ethiopia

called _Besechiece_,[109] which is within the Torrid Zone, the North

Pole rising above it 14 deg. 30', situated in the first climate. Here we

remained two days, taking in wood and water; for my intention was to

shape a course towards the south, in the Atlantic Gulf. We departed from

this port of Ethiopia, and steered to the south-west, taking a quarter

point to the south[110] until, after sixty-seven days, we came in sight

of land, which was 700 leagues from the said port to the south-west.[111]

In those sixty-seven days we had the worst time that man ever endured who

navigated the seas, owing to the rains, perturbations, and storms that we

encountered. The season was very contrary to us, by reason of the course

of our navigation being continually in contact with the equinoctial line,

where, in the month of June, it is winter. We found that the day and

the night were equal, and that the shadow was always towards the south.

It pleased God to show us a new land on the 17th of August, and we

anchored at a distance of half a league, and got our boats out. We then

went to see the land, whether it was inhabited, and what it was like. We

found that it was inhabited by people who were worse than animals. But

your Magnificence must understand that we did not see them at first,

though we were convinced that the country was inhabited, by many signs

observed by us. We took possession for that Most Serene King; and found

the land to be very pleasant and fertile, and of good appearance. It was

5 deg. to the south of the equinoctial line. We went back to the ships, and

as we were in great want of wood and water, we determined, next day, to

return to the shore, with the object of obtaining what we wanted. Being

on shore, we saw some people at the top of a hill, who were looking

at us, but without showing any intention of coming down. They were

naked, and of the same colour and form as the others we had seen. We

tried to induce them to come and speak with us, but did not succeed,

as they would not trust us. Seeing their obstinacy, and it being late,

we returned on board, leaving many bells and mirrors on shore, and other

things in their sight. As soon as we were at some distance on the sea,

they came down from the hill, and showed themselves to be much astonished

at the things. On that day we were only able to obtain water.

Next morning we saw from the ship that the people on shore had made a

great smoke, and thinking it was a signal to us, we went on shore, where

we found that many people had come, but they still kept at a distance from

us. They made signs to us that we should come inland with them. Two of

our Christians were, therefore, sent to ask their captain for leave to go

with them a short distance inland, to see what kind of people they were,

and if they had any riches, spices, or drugs. The captain was contented,

so they got together many things for barter, and parted from us, with

instructions that they should not be more than five days absent, as we

would wait that time for them. So they set out on their road inland,

and we returned to the ships to wait for them. Nearly every day people

came to the beach, but they would not speak with us. On the seventh day

we went on shore, and found that they had arranged with their women; for,

as we jumped on shore, the men of the land sent many of their women to

speak with us. Seeing that they were not reassured, we arranged to send

to them one of our people, who was a very agile and valiant youth. To

give them more confidence, the rest of us went back into the boats. He

went among the women, and they all began to touch and feel him, wondering

at him exceedingly. Things being so, we saw a woman come from the hill,

carrying a great stick in her hand.[112] When she came to where our

Christian stood, she raised it, and gave him such a blow that he was

felled to the ground. The other women immediately took him by the feet,

and dragged him towards the hill. The men rushed down to the beach,

and shot at us with their bows and arrows. Our people, in great fear,

hauled the boats towards their anchors,[113] which were on shore; but,

owing to the quantities of arrows that came into the boats, no one thought

of taking up their arms. At last, four rounds from the bombard were fired

at them, and they no sooner heard the report than they all ran away

towards the hill, where the women were still tearing the Christian to

pieces. At a great fire they had made they roasted him before our eyes,

showing us many pieces, and then eating them. The men made signs how they

had killed the other two Christians and eaten them. What shocked us much

was seeing with our eyes the cruelty with which they treated the dead,

which was an intolerable insult to all of us.

Having arranged that more than forty of us should land and avenge such

cruel murder, and so bestial and inhuman an act, the principal captain

would not give his consent. We departed from them unwillingly, and with

much shame, caused by the decision of our captain.

We left this place, and commenced our navigation by shaping a course

between east and south. Thus we sailed along the land, making many

landings, seeing natives, but having no intercourse with them. We

sailed on until we found that the coast made a turn to the west when

we had doubled a cape, to which we gave the name of the _Cape of St.

Augustine_.[114] We then began to shape a course to the south-west.

The cape is distant from the place where the Christians were murdered 150

leagues towards the east, and this cape is 8 deg. from the equinoctial line

to the south. In navigating we saw one day a great multitude of people

on the beach, gazing at the wonderful sight of our ships. As we sailed

we turned the ship towards them, anchored in a good place, and went on

shore with the boats. We found the people to be better conditioned than

those we had met with before, and, responding to our overtures, they

soon made friends, and treated with us. We were five days in this place,

and found _canna fistola_ very thick and green, and dry on the tops of

the trees. We determined to take a pair of men from this place, that

they might teach us their language, and three of them came voluntarily

to go to Portugal.

Lest your Magnificence should be tired of so much writing, you must know

that, on leaving this port, we sailed along on a westerly course, always

in sight of land, continually making many landings, and speaking with

an infinite number of people. We were so far south that we were outside

the Tropic of Capricorn, where the South Pole rises above the horizon

32 deg. We had lost sight altogether of _Ursa Minor_ and _Ursa Major_,

which were far below and scarcely seen on the horizon.[115] We guided

ourselves by the stars of the South Pole, which are numerous and much

larger and brighter than those of our Pole. I traced the figure of the

greater part of those of the first magnitude, with a declaration of their

orbits round the South Pole, and of their diameters and semi-diameters,

as may be seen in my FOUR VOYAGES. We sailed along that coast for 750

leagues, 150 from the cape called _St. Augustine_, to the west, and 600

to the south.

Desiring to recount the things I saw on that coast, and what happened

to us, as many more leaves would not suffice me. On the coast we saw an

infinite number of trees, brazil wood[116] and _cassia_, and those trees

which yield myrrh, as well as other marvels of nature which I am unable

to recount. Having now been ten months on the voyage, and having seen

that there was no mining wealth whatever in that land, we decided upon

taking leave of it, and upon sailing across the sea for some other part.

Having held a consultation, it was decided that the course should be

taken which seemed good to me; and the command of the fleet was entrusted

to me. I gave orders that the fleet should be supplied with wood and

water for six months, such being the decision of the officers of the

ships. Having made our departure from this land, we began our navigation

with a southerly course on the 15th of February, when already the sun

moved towards the equinoctial, and turned towards our Hemisphere of the

North. We sailed so far on this course that we found ourselves where the

South Pole had a height above our horizon of 52 deg. and we could no longer

see the stars of _Ursa Minor_ or of _Ursa Major_. We were then 500 leagues

to the south of the port whence we had departed, and this was on the 3rd

of April. On this day such a tempest arose on the sea that all our sails

were blown away, and we ran under bare poles, with a heavy southerly gale

and a tremendous sea; the air being very tempestuous. The gale was such

that all the people in the fleet were much alarmed. The nights were very

long, for the night we had on the 7th of April lasted fifteen hours,

the sun being at the end of Aries, and in that region it was winter,

as your Magnificence will be well aware. Sailing in this storm, on the

7th of April we came in sight of new land,[117] along which we ran for

nearly 20 leagues, and found it all a rocky coast, without any port or

inhabitants. I believe this was because the cold was so great that no one

in the fleet could endure it. Finding ourselves in such peril, and in such

a storm that we could scarcely see one ship from another, owing to the

greatness of the waves and the blinding mist, it was agreed with the

principal captain that a signal should be made to the ships that they

should make for land, and then shape a course for Portugal. This was

very good counsel, for it is certain that if we had delayed another

night all would have been lost; for, as we wore round on the next day,

we were met by such a storm that we expected to be swamped. We had to

undertake pilgrimages and perform other ceremonies, as is the custom

of sailors at such times. We ran for five days, always coming towards

the equinoctial line, where the air and sea became more temperate. It

pleased God to deliver us from such peril. Our course was now between

the north and north-east, for our intention was to reach the coast of

Ethiopia, our distance from it being 300 leagues, in the Gulf of the

Atlantic Sea. By the grace of God, on the 10th day of May, we came in

sight of land, where we were able to refresh ourselves, the land being

called _La Serra Liona_. We were there fifteen days, and thence shaped

a course to the islands of the _Azores_, which are distant nearly 750

leagues from that _Serra_. We reached the islands in the end of July,

where we remained fifteen days taking some recreation. Thence we departed

for Lisbon, distant 300 leagues to the west, and arrived at that port of

Lisbon on the 7th of September 1502, may God be thanked for our salvation,

with only two ships. We burnt the other at _Serra Liona_, because she

was no longer seaworthy. We were employed on this voyage nearly fifteen

months; and for eleven days we navigated without seeing the North Star,

nor the Great or Little Bears, which they call _el corno_, and we were

guided by the stars of the other Pole. This is what I saw on this voyage.

* * * * *

_Letter on his Third Voyage from_ AMERIGO VESPUCCI _to_ LORENZO PIETRO

FRANCESCO DI MEDICI.

_March (or April) 1503._

Alberico Vesputio to Lorenzo Pietro di Medici, salutation. In passed

days I wrote very fully to you of my return from the new countries,

which have been found and explored with the ships, at the cost, and by

the command, of this Most Serene King of Portugal; and it is lawful to

call it a new world, because none of these countries were known to our

ancestors, and to all who hear about them they will be entirely new.

For the opinion of the ancients was, that the greater part of the world

beyond the equinoctial line to the south was not land, but only sea,

which they have called the Atlantic; and if they have affirmed that any

continent is there, they have given many reasons for denying that it

is inhabited. But this their opinion is false, and entirely opposed to

the truth. My last voyage has proved it, for I have found a continent

in that southern part; more populous and more full of animals than our

Europe, or Asia, or Africa, and even more temperate and pleasant than any

other region known to us, as will be explained further on. I shall write

succinctly of the principal things only, and the things most worthy of

notice and of being remembered, which I either saw or heard of in this

new world, as presently will become manifest.

We set out, on a prosperous voyage, on the 14th of May[118] 1501,

sailing from Lisbon, by order of the aforesaid King, with three ships,

to discover new countries towards the west; and we sailed towards the

south continuously for twenty months.[119] Of this navigation the order

is as follows: Our course was for the Fortunate Islands, so called

formerly, but now we call them the Grand Canary Islands, which are in

the third climate, and on the confines of the inhabited west. Thence we

sailed rapidly over the ocean along the coast of Africa and part of

Ethiopia to the Ethiopic Promontory, so called by Ptolemy, which is

now called Cape Verde, and by the Ethiopians _Biseghier_, and that

country _Mandraga_, 13 deg. within the Torrid Zone, on the north side of

the equinoctial line. The country is inhabited by a black race. Having

taken on board what we required, we weighed our anchors and made sail,

taking our way across the vast ocean towards the Antarctic Pole, with some

westing. From the day when we left the before-mentioned promontory, we

sailed for the space of two months and three days.[120] Hitherto no land

had appeared to us in that vast sea. In truth, how much we had suffered,

what dangers of shipwreck, I leave to the judgment of those to whom the

experience of such things is very well known. What a thing it is to seek

unknown lands, and how difficult, being ignorant, to narrate briefly what

happened. It should be known that, of the sixty-seven days of our voyage,

we were navigating continuously forty-four. We had copious thunderstorms

and perturbations, and it was so dark that we never could see either the

sun in the day or the moon at night. This caused us great fear, so that

we lost all hope of life. In these most terrible dangers of the sea it

pleased the Most High to show us the continent and the new countries,

being another unknown world. These things being in sight, we were as

much rejoiced as anyone may imagine who, after calamity and ill-fortune,

has obtained safety.

It was on the 7th August[121] 1501, that we reached those countries,

thanking our Lord God with solemn prayers, and celebrating a choral

Mass. We knew that land to be a continent, and not an island, from its

long beaches extending without trending round, the infinite number of

inhabitants, the numerous tribes and peoples, the numerous kinds of wild

animals unknown in our country, and many others never seen before by us,

touching which it would take long to make reference. The clemency of God

was shown forth to us by being brought to these regions; for the ships

were in a leaking state, and in a few days our lives might have been lost

in the sea. To Him be the honour and glory, and the grace of the action.

We took counsel, and resolved to navigate along the coast of this

continent towards the east, and never to lose sight of the land. We sailed

along until we came to a point where the coast turned to the south. The

distance from the landfall to this point was nearly 300 leagues.[122]

In this stretch of coast we often landed, and had friendly relations

with the natives,[123] as I shall presently relate. I had forgotten to

tell you that from Cape Verde to the first land of this continent the

distance is nearly 700 leagues; although I estimate that we went over more

than 1,800, partly owing to ignorance of the route, and partly owing to

the tempests and foul winds which drove us off our course, and sent us

in various directions. If my companions had not trusted in me, to whom

cosmography was known, no one, not the leader of our navigation, would

have known where we were after running 500 leagues. We were wandering

and full of errors, and only the instruments for taking the altitudes

of heavenly bodies showed us our position. These were the quadrant and

astrolabe, as known to all. These have been much used by me with much

honour; for I showed them that a knowledge of the marine chart, and the

rules taught by it, are more worth than all the pilots in the world. For

these pilots have no knowledge beyond those places to which they have

often sailed. Where the said point of land showed us the trend of the

coast to the south, we agreed to continue our voyage, and to ascertain

what there might be in those regions. We sailed along the coast for

nearly 500 leagues, often going on shore and having intercourse with the

natives, who received us in a brotherly manner. We sometimes stayed with

them for fifteen or twenty days continuously, as friends and guests, as

I shall relate presently. Part of this continent is in the Torrid Zone,

beyond the equinoctial line towards the South Pole. But it begins at 8 deg.

beyond the equinoctial. We sailed along the coast so far that we crossed

the Tropic of Capricorn, and found ourselves where the Antarctic Pole

was 50 deg. above our horizon. We went towards the Antarctic Circle until

we were 17 deg. 30' from it[124]; all which I have seen, and I have known

the nature of those people, their customs, the resources and fertility

of the land, the salubrity of the air, the positions of the celestial

bodies in the heavens, and, above all, the fixed stars, over an eighth

of the sphere, never seen by our ancestors, as I shall explain below.

As regards the people: we have found such a multitude in those countries

that no one could enumerate them, as we read in the Apocalypse. They are

people gentle and tractable, and all of both sexes go naked, not covering

any part of their bodies, just as they came from their mothers' wombs,

and so they go until their deaths. They have large, square-built bodies,

and well proportioned. Their colour reddish, which I think is caused by

their going naked and exposed to the sun. Their hair is plentiful and

black. They are agile in walking, and of quick sight. They are of a

free and good-looking expression of countenance, which they themselves

destroy by boring the nostrils and lips, the nose and ears; nor must

you believe that the borings are small, nor that they only have one,

for I have seen those who had no less than seven borings in the face,

each one the size of a plum. They stop up these perforations with blue

stones, bits of marble, of crystal, or very fine alabaster, also with

very white bones and other things artificially prepared according to their

customs; which, if you could see, it would appear a strange and monstrous

thing. One had in the nostrils and lips alone seven stones, of which some

were half a palm in length. It will astonish you to hear that I considered

that the weight of seven such stones was as much as sixteen ounces. In

each ear they had three perforations bored, whence they had other stones

and rings suspended. This custom is only for the men, as the women do

not perforate their faces, but only their ears. Another custom among

them is sufficiently shameful, and beyond all human credibility. Their

women, being very libidinous, make the penis of their husbands swell to

such a size as to appear deformed; and this is accomplished by a certain

artifice, being the bite of some poisonous animal, and by reason of this

many lose their virile organ and remain eunuchs.

They have no cloth, either of wool, flax, or cotton, because they have

no need of it; nor have they any private property, everything being

in common. They live amongst themselves without a king or ruler, each

man being his own master, and having as many wives as they please. The

children cohabit with the mothers, the brothers with the sisters, the

male cousins with the female, and each one with the first he meets.

They have no temples and no laws, nor are they idolaters. What more

can I say! They live according to nature, and are more inclined to be

Epicurean than Stoic. They have no commerce among each other, and they

wage war without art or order. The old men make the youths do what they

please, and incite them to fights, in which they mutually kill with

great cruelty. They slaughter those who are captured, and the victors

eat the vanquished; for human flesh is an ordinary article of food

among them. You may be the more certain of this, because I have seen

a man eat his children and wife; and I knew a man who was popularly

credited to have eaten 300 human bodies. I was once in a certain city

for twenty-seven days, where human flesh was hung up near the houses,

in the same way as we expose butcher's meat. I say further that they were

surprised that we did not eat our enemies, and use their flesh as food,

for they say it is excellent. Their arms are bows and arrows, and when

they go to war they cover no part of their bodies, being in this like

beasts. We did all we could to persuade them to desist from their evil

habits, and they promised us to leave off. The women, as I have said,

go naked, and are very libidinous, yet their bodies are comely; but they

are as wild as can be imagined.

They live for 150 years, and are rarely sick. If they are attacked by

a disease they cure themselves with the roots of some herbs. These are

the most noteworthy things I know about them.

The air in this country is temperate and good, as we were able to learn

from their accounts that there are never any pestilences or epidemics

caused by bad air. Unless they meet with violent deaths, their lives

are long. I believe this is because a southerly wind is always blowing,

a south wind to them being what a north wind is to us. They are expert

fishermen, and the sea is full of all kinds of fish. They are not hunters;

I think because here there are many kinds of wild animals, principally

lions and bears, innumerable serpents, and other horrible creatures and

deformed beasts; also because there are vast forests and trees of immense

size. They have not the courage to face such dangers naked and without

any defence.

The land is very fertile, abounding in many hills and valleys, and in

large rivers, and is irrigated by very refreshing springs. It is covered

with extensive and dense forests, which are almost impenetrable, and

full of every kind of wild beast. Great trees grow without cultivation,

of which many yield fruits pleasant to the taste and nourishing to the

human body; and a great many have an opposite effect. The fruits are

unlike those in our country; and there are innumerable different kinds

of fruits and herbs, of which they make bread and excellent food. They

also have many seeds unlike ours. No kind of metal has been found except

gold, in which the country abounds, though we have brought none back in

this our first navigation. The natives, however, assured us that there

was an immense quantity of gold underground, and nothing was to be had

from them for a price. Pearls abound, as I wrote to you.

If I was to attempt to write of all the species of animals, it would

be a long and tedious task. I believe certainly that our Pliny did not

touch upon a thousandth part of the animals and birds that exist in this

region; nor could an artist such as Policletus,[125] succeed in painting

them. All the trees are odoriferous, and some of them emit gums, oils,

or other liquors. If they were our property, I do not doubt but that

they would be useful to man. If the terrestrial paradise is in some part

of this land, it cannot be very far from the coast we visited. It is,

as I have told you, in a climate where the air is temperate at noon,

being neither cold in winter nor hot in summer.

The sky and air are serene during a great part of the year. Thick vapours,

with fine rain falling, last for three or four hours and then disappear

like smoke. The sky is adorned with most beautiful signs and figures,

in which I have noted as many as twenty stars as bright as we sometimes

see Venus and Jupiter. I have considered the orbits and motions of these

stars, and I have measured the circumference and diameters of the stars

by a geometrical method,[126] ascertaining which were the largest. I

saw in the heaven three _Canopi_, two certainly bright, and the other

obscure. The Antarctic Pole is not figured with a Great Bear and a Little

Bear, like our Arctic Pole, nor is any bright star seen near it, and

of those which go round in the shortest circuit there are three which

have the figure of the orthogonous triangle, of which the smallest has

a diameter of 9 half-degrees. To the east of these is seen a _Canopus_

of great size, and white, which, when in mid-heaven, has this figure:--

* s s

s s s s

s s s s s s

s s s s

canopus

* *

After these come two others, of which the half-circumference, the

diameter, has 12 half-degrees; and with them is seen another Canopus.

To these succeed six other most beautiful and very bright stars, beyond

all the others of the eighth sphere, which, in the superficies of the

heaven, have half the circumference, the diameter 32 deg., and with them

is one black Canopus of immense size, seen in the Milky Way, and they

have this shape when they are on the meridian:--

*

* * * *

s s

s s s s s

s s s s s s

s s s

*

I have known many other very beautiful stars, which I have diligently

noted down, and have described very well in a certain little book

describing this my navigation, which at present is in the possession

of that Most Serene King, and I hope he will restore it to me. In

that hemisphere I have seen things not compatible with the opinions

of philosophers. Twice I have seen a white rainbow towards the middle

of the night, which was not only observed by me, but also by all the

sailors. Likewise we often saw the new moon on the day on which it is

in conjunction with the sun. Every night, in that part of the heavens

of which we speak, there were innumerable vapours and burning meteors.

I have told you, a little way back, that, in the hemisphere of which

we are speaking, it is not a complete hemisphere in respect to ours,

because it does not take that form so that it may be properly called so.

Therefore, as I have said, from Lisbon, whence we started, the distance

from the equinoctial line is 39 deg., and we navigated beyond the equinoctial

line to 50 deg., which together make 90 deg., which is one quarter of a great

circle, according to the true measurement handed down to us by the

ancients, so that it is manifest that we must have navigated over a

fourth part of the earth. By this reasoning, we who inhabit Lisbon, at

a distance of 39 deg. from the equinoctial line in north latitude, are to

those who live under 50 deg. beyond the same line, in meridional length,

angularly 5 deg. on a transverse line. I will explain this more clearly: a

perpendicular line, while we stand upright, if suspended from a point of

the heavens exactly vertical, hangs over our heads; but it hangs over them

sideways. Thus, while we are on a right line, they are on a transverse

line. An orthogonal triangle is thus formed, of which we have the right

line, but the base and hypotenuse to them seems the vertical line, as

in this figure it will appear. This will suffice as regards cosmography.

Vertex[127] of our heads.

_.-'|

_.-' |

Hypotenuse. _.-' | Us.

_.-' |

Vertex[127] of _.-' |

their heads. _.-'____________________|

Them.

These are the most notable things that I have seen in this my last

navigation, or, as I call it, the third voyage. For the other two voyages

were made by order of the Most Serene King of Spain to the west, in which

I noted many wonderful works of God, our Creator; and if I should have

time, I intend to collect all these singular and wonderful things into a

geographical or cosmographical book, that my record may live with future

generations; and the immense work of the omnipotent God will be known, in

parts still unknown, but known to us. I also pray that the most merciful

God will prolong my life that, with His good grace, I may be able to make

the best disposition of this my wish. I keep the other two journeys in

my sanctuary, and the Most Serene King restoring to me the third journey,

I intend to return to peace and my country. There, in consultation with

learned persons, and comforted and aided by friends, I shall be able to

complete my work.

I ask your pardon for not having sooner been able to send you this my

last navigation, as I had promised in my former letters. I believe that

you will understand the cause, which was that I could not get the books

from this Most Serene King. I think of undertaking a fourth voyage in

the same direction, and promise is already made of two ships with their

armaments, in which I may seek new regions of the East on a course called

Africus. In which journey I hope much to do God honour, to be of service

to this kingdom, to secure repute for my old age, and I expect no other

result with the permission of this Most Serene King. May God permit what

is for the best, and you shall be informed of what happens.

This letter was translated from the Italian into the Latin language

by Jocundus, interpreter, as everyone understands Latin who desires

to learn about these voyages, and to search into the things of heaven,

and to know all that is proper to be known; for, from the time the world

began, so much has not been discovered touching the greatness of the

earth and what is contained in it.

* * * * *

FOURTH VOYAGE OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

It remains for me to relate the things I saw in the fourth voyage; but

as I am already tired, and as the voyage did not end as was intended,

owing to an accident which happened in the Atlantic, as your Magnificence

will shortly understand, I propose to be brief. We departed from this

port of Lisbon with six ships,[128] having the intention of discovering

an island in the East called Melaccha, of which it was reported that it

was very rich, and that it was the mart of all the ships that navigate

the Gangetic and Indian Seas, as Cadiz is the mart for all vessels

passing from east to west or from west to east by way of Galicut. This

Melaccha is more to the west than Galicut, and much more to the south,

for we know that it is in 33 deg. from the Antarctic Pole.[129] We departed

on the 10th of May 1503, and shaped a course direct for the Cape Verde

Islands, where we careened and took in fresh provisions, remaining for

thirteen days. Thence we continued on our voyage, shaping a south-easterly

course, and as our commander was a presumptuous and very obstinate man,

he wanted to go to Serra-liona, in the southern land of AEthiopia, without

any necessity, unless it was to show that he was commander of the six

ships, and he acted against the wishes of all the other captains. Thus

navigating, when we came in sight of the said land the weather was so

bad, with a contrary wind, that we were in sight for four days without

being able to reach the place, owing to the storm. The consequence was

that we were obliged to resume our proper course, and give up the said

Serra, shaping a south-west course. When we had sailed for 300 leagues,

being 3 deg. to the south of the equinoctial line, a land was sighted[130]

at a distance of twenty-two leagues, at which we were astonished. We found

that it was an island in the midst of the sea, very high and wonderful in

its formation, for it was not more than two leagues long and one broad,

and uninhabited. It was an evil island for all the fleet, because your

Magnificence must know that, through the bad advice and management of

our commander, his ship was lost. For, with three in company, he struck

on a rock in the night of St. Lawrence, which is on the 10th of August,

and went to the bottom, nothing being saved but the crew. She was a ship

of 300 tons, and the chief importance of the fleet centred in her. As

the other ships were worn and needed repairs, the commander ordered

me to go to the island in my ship, and find a good anchorage where the

fleet could anchor. As my boat, with nine of my sailors, was employed

in helping the other ships, he did not wish that I should take it, but

that I should go without it, telling me that I should go by myself. I

left the fleet in accordance with my orders, without a boat and with less

than half my sailors, and went to the island, which was at a distance of

four leagues. I found an excellent port where the fleet could anchor in

perfect security. Here I waited for my captain and the fleet for eight

days, but they never came. We were very discontented, and the men were

full of apprehensions which I could not remove. Being in this state of

anxiety, at last, on the eighth day, we saw a ship coming from seaward,

and, fearing that she might not see us, we came out to her, expecting

that she was bringing my boat and people. When we came up to her, after

salutes, they told us that the _Capitana_ was gone to the bottom, the

crew being saved, and that my boat and people remained with the fleet,

which had gone to that sea ahead, which was a great trouble to us. What

will your Magnificence think of my finding myself 1,000 leagues from

Lisbon with few men? Nevertheless, we put a bold face on the matter,

and still went ahead. We returned to the island, and filled up with

wood and water by using our consort's boat. We found the island to be

uninhabited, supplied with abundance of fresh water, quantities of trees,

and full of marine and land birds without number. They were so tame that

they allowed us to take them with our hands. We caught so many that we

loaded a boat with these animals. We saw nothing but very large rats,

lizards with two tails, and some serpents.

Having got in our provisions we departed, shaping a course between south

and south-west, for we had an order from the King that any ship parted

from the rest of the fleet, or from the Commander-in-Chief, should make

for the land that was visited in the previous voyage. We discovered a port

to which we gave the name of the Bay of _All Saints_,[131] and it pleased

God to give us such fine weather that we reached it in seventeen days,

being 300 leagues from the island. Here we neither found our commander

nor any of the other ships of the fleet. We waited in this port for

two months and four days, and, seeing that there was no arrival, I and

my consort determined to explore the coast. We sailed onwards for 260

leagues until we reached a harbour where we agreed to build a fort. We

did so, and left twenty-four Christian men in it who were on board my

consort, being part of the crew of the _Capitana_ that was lost. We

were in that harbour five months, building the fort, and loading our

ships with brazil-wood. For we were not able to advance further, because

we had not full crews, and I wanted many necessaries. Having done all

this, we agreed to return to Portugal, which bore between north-east and

north. We left the twenty-four men in the fort, with provisions for six

months, twelve bombards, and many other arms. We had made friends with

all the natives round, of whom I have made no mention in this voyage,

not because we did not see and have intercourse with an infinite number

of tribes: for we went inland with thirty men, for a distance of 40

leagues, and saw so many things that I refrain from recounting them,

reserving them for my FOUR VOYAGES. This land is 18 deg. to the south of the

equinoctial line, and beyond the meridian of Lisbon 37 deg. further to the

west, according to what was shown by our instruments. All this being done,

we took leave of the Christians and of that land, and began our navigation

to the north-north-east, with the object of shaping a course for this

city of Lisbon. After seventy-seven days of many hardships and dangers

we entered this port on the 18th of June 1504. God be praised. Here we

were very well received, more so than anyone would believe. For all the

city had given us up, all the other ships of the fleet having been lost,

owing to the pride and folly of our commander.[132] May God reward him

for his pride!

At present I may be found in Lisbon, not knowing what the King may wish

to do with me, but I greatly desire rest.

The bearer of this is Benvenuto di Domenico Benvenuti, who will tell

your Magnificence of my condition, and of some things which I have left

out to avoid prolixity, for he has seen and heard, God knows, how much

of them. I have condensed the letter as much as possible, and to this

end have omitted many natural things, for which your Magnificence will

pardon me. I beseech you to include me in the number of your servants,

and I commend you to Ser Antonio Vespucci my brother, and to all my

house. I conclude praying God that He will prolong your life, and that

He will favour the state of that exalted Republic and the honour of

your Magnificence.

Given in Lisbon, September 4th, 1504.

Your servant,

AMERIGO VESPUCCI, in Lisbon.

* * * * *

_Letter from the Admiral_ CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS _to his Son, referring

to_ AMERIGO VESPUCCI.[133]

MY DEAR SON,--Diego Mendez left here on Monday, the 3rd of this month.

After his departure, I spoke with Amerigo Vespucci, the bearer of this

letter, who is going to the Court on matters relating to navigation.

He always showed a desire to please me, and is a very respectable man.

Fortune has been adverse to him, as to many others. His labours have

not been so profitable to him as he might have expected. He leaves me

with the desire to do me service, if it should be in his power. I am

unable here to point out in what way he could be useful to me, because

I do not know what may be required at Court; but he goes with the

determination of doing all he can for me. You will see in what way he

can be employed. Think the matter over, as he will do everything, and

speak, and put things in train; but let all be done secretly, so as not

to arouse suspicion of him. I have told him all I can about my affairs,

and of the payments that have been made to me and are due. This letter

is also for the Adelantado, for he can see in what way use can be made

of it, and will apprise you of it, etc., etc.

Dated in Seville, the 5th of February (1505).

S.

S. A. S.

X. M. Y.

XPO FERENS.

* * * * *

_Letter from_ HIERONIMO VIANELO _to the_ SEIGNEURY OF VENICE.[134]

_Burgos, December 23rd, 1506._

The two ships have arrived from the Indies, belonging to the King, my

Lord, which went on a voyage of discovery under Juan Biscaino[135] and

Almerigo Fiorentino.[136] They went to the S.W., 800 leagues beyond the

island of Espanola, which is 2,000 leagues from the Straits of Hercules,

and discovered mainland, which they judge to be 200 leagues from the

land of Espanola, and after coasting along it for 600 leagues they came

to a great river, with a mouth 40 leagues across, and went up it for

150 leagues, in which there are many islets inhabited by Indians. They

live, for the most part, very miserably on fish, and go naked. Thence

they went back with some of these Indians, and went along the coast of

the said land for 600 leagues, where they met an Indian canoe, which is

carved out of one piece of wood. It had a sail, and went to the mainland

with eighty men, with many bows, and targets of a very light but strong

wood. They went to the mainland to take Indians who live there, who do

not serve them as slaves, but are eaten by them like deer, rabbits, and

other animals. Our people took these Indians. Their bows are made of

ebony and their arrows have corals made of the nerves of snakes. Having

taken this canoe, they returned to the said island, where there came

against them a great number of Indians, with bows and arrows in their

hands. They defeated these natives and explored the island, which they

found very sterile. At noon they came to a plain, which was so covered

with serpents and snakes and dragons, that it was marvellous. They kept

one, as it seemed to them to be a very wonderful thing. This dragon was

larger than a _cachalote_.[137]

The island is intersected by a mountain, one part to the north the other

to the south. The north side is inhabited by these Indians, the other

side by those poisonous animals. They say that none of these serpents

ever pass to the inhabited part, and in the whole of that side there

are no serpents, nor any similar animals. Having seen this, the said

ships departed, and took away seven Indians of that land, good sailors,

and coasted along the coast to a place called Alseshij, and thence for

400 leagues to the westward, when they came to a land where they found

many houses, out of which came many Indians to receive them and do them

honour, and they say that one of these had previously predicted that

certain ships of a great king, to them unknown, would come from the

east and make them all slaves, and that all the strangers were gifted

with life eternal, and that their persons would be adorned with various

dresses. They say that when their king saw our ships he said: "Behold,

here are the ships that I told you of ten years ago." This king came

with a breast-plate of massive gold on his breast and a chain of gold,

and a mask of gold with four golden bells of a mark each at his feet;

and with him came twenty Indians, all with gold masks on their faces,

beating golden kettle-drums, each weighing thirty marks. When they

saw the islanders with the Spaniards they began to be disdainful, and

to fight fiercely with our people with poisoned arrows. They numbered

5,000, and 140 of our men had landed. They fell to and cut to pieces

nearly 700 natives, one of ours being killed by an arrow. They came to

the houses, and took those masks and bells, and arms of the said king,

and 800 marks of gold. They set fire to the houses, and were there

ninety-six days, because the three ships that remained were sunk and went

to the bottom. Seeing this, they took out the provisions and stores,

and fortified themselves on shore with a very good tower. Every day

they fought with the Indians. At night they were within their enclosure,

and in the day they went out in order, and as much as they marched, so

much they acquired. But they did not dare to go out of their quarters.

One day they went to a lake, and began to wash the earth with certain

_vernicali_,[138] each one in half an hour getting six, seven, or eight

_castellanos_ of gold. They were told by some of the Indian prisoners

that they need not tire themselves with washing, for that from there to

a very high mountain the distance was half a league, and that in a plain

near there was a river, where it is not necessary to wash much, for each

man in a day can gather ten marks of gold with little trouble. At length,

as lost men, without hope of returning home, they repaired the ships and

boats that were run up on the beach, eventually determining to return to

Spain. During the time of ninety-six days that they were there several

died from sickness, and there were forty-four survivors who were saved

with the help of God. They left ten men in the tower, supplied with

provisions and stores for a year, who were attacked three times by

Indians with their canoes, but were always victorious, and have come

safely here to the Court. I have seen all that gold and various things

that they have brought back; another kind of pepper, but larger than

ours, and nuts like nutmegs. They have also brought seventy pearls, all

good green ones, and some of ten and twelve carats, round, and like[139]

Indian pearls bored in the middle. They have also found and brought a

green stone like jasper, four fingers in length, and others worn on the

lips of the people. They are generally without beards.

The Archbishop intends to send the said two captains, with eight ships

and four hundred men, very well furnished with arms, artillery, etc.

* * * * *

_Royal Letter of Naturalization in the Kingdoms of Castille and Leon

in favour of_ VESPUCCI.[140]

Dona Juana by the Grace of God:--To do good and show grace to you,

Amerigo Vespucci, Florentine, in recognition of your fidelity and of

certain good service you have done, and which I expect that you will

do from henceforward, by this present I make you a native of these

my kingdoms of Castille and of Leon, and that you may be able to hold

any public offices that you may have been given or charged with, and

that you may be able to enjoy and may enjoy all the honours, favours,

and liberties, pre-eminences, prerogatives and immunities, and all other

things, and each one of them, which you would be able or would be bound

to have and enjoy if you were born in these kingdoms and lordships.

By this my letter, and by its duplicate signed by a public notary, I order

the most illustrious Prince Don Carlos, my very dear and well-beloved son,

and the Infants, Dukes, Prelates, Counts, Marquises, Ricos-Hombres,

Masters of the Orders, those of my Council, the judges of my courts,

the magistrates of my house and court, the friars, commanders and

sub-commanders of the orders, governors of castles and forts, the

councillors, governors, assistant-governors, officers, knights, esquires,

and citizens of all my cities, towns, and villages of these my kingdoms

and lordships, and all others my subjects, of whatsoever condition,

pre-eminence, or dignity they be or may be, that they shall consider

you as a native of these my kingdoms and lordships, as if you had been

born and brought up in them, and leave you to hold such public and royal

offices and posts as may be given and entrusted to you, and such other

things as you shall have an interest in, the same as if you had been born

and bred in these kingdoms; and they shall maintain and cause to maintain

the said honours, favours, freedoms, liberties, exemptions, pre-eminences,

prerogatives and immunities, and all other things, and each one of them,

that you may or ought to have and enjoy, being native of these the said my

kingdoms and lordships, and that neither on them nor on any part of them

shall they place, or consent to be placed, any impediment against you.

Thus I order that it shall be done, any laws or ordinances of these

my kingdoms to the contrary notwithstanding, as to which or to each

of them of my proper motion and certain knowledge, and absolute royal

power, such as I choose to use as Queen and Natural Lady of this part,

I dispense so far as they touch these presents, leaving them in force

and vigour for all other things henceforward.

Given in the city of Toro, on the 24th day of April, in the year of the

birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1505 years. I, the King.

I, Gaspar de Goicio, Licentiate Zapata, Licenciate Polanco.

* * * * *

_Appointment of_ AMERIGO VESPUCCI _as Chief Pilot_.

Dona Juana:--Seeing that it has come to our notice, and that we have

seen by experience, that, owing to the pilots not being so expert as is

necessary, nor so well instructed in what they ought to know, so as to

be competent to rule and govern the ships that navigate in the voyage

over the Ocean Sea to our islands and mainland which we possess in the

Indies; and that through their default, either in not knowing how to

rule and govern, or through not knowing how to find the altitude by the

quadrant or astrolabe, nor the methods of calculating it, have happened

many disasters, and those who have sailed under their governance have

been exposed to great danger, by which our Lord has been ill-served, as

well as our finances, while the merchants who trade thither have received

much hurt and loss. And for a remedy to the above, and because it is

necessary, as well for that navigation as for other voyages by which,

with the help of our Lord, we hope to make new discoveries in other lands,

that there should be persons who are more expert and better instructed,

and who know the things necessary for such navigation, so that those

who are under them may go more safely, it is our will and pleasure, and

we order that all the pilots of our kingdoms and lordships, who are now

or shall hereafter be appointed as pilots in the said navigation to the

islands and mainland that we possess in the parts of the Indies, and in

other parts of the Ocean Sea, shall be instructed and shall know what

it is necessary for them to know respecting the quadrant and astrolabe,

in order that, by uniting theory with practice, they may be able to

make good use of them in the said voyages made to the said parts, and,

without such knowledge, no one shall go in the said ships as pilots,

nor receive pay as pilots, nor may the masters receive them on board ship,

until they have first been examined by you, Amerigo Despuchi, our Chief

Pilot, and they shall be given by you a certificate of examination

and approval touching the knowledge of each one. Holding the said

certificates, we order that they shall be taken and received as expert

pilots by whoever is shown them, for it is our pleasure that you shall

be examiner of the said pilots.

In order that those who have not the knowledge may more easily learn,

we order that you are to teach them, in your house in Seville, all

those things that they ought to know, you receiving payment for your

trouble. And as it may happen that now, in the beginning, there may be a

scarcity of passed pilots, and some ships may be detained for the want

of them, causing loss and harm to the citizens of the said islands, as

well as to merchants and other persons who trade thither, we order you,

the said Amerigo, and we give you licence that you may select the most

efficient pilots from among those who have been there, that for one or

two voyages, or for a certain period, they may supply what is necessary,

while those others acquire the knowledge that they have to learn, so

that there may be time for them to learn what is needed.

It is also reported to us that there are many charts, by different

masters, on which are delineated the lands and islands of the Indies, to

us belonging, which by our order have recently been discovered, and that

these charts differ very much one from another, as well in the routes

as in the delineations of coasts, which may cause much inconvenience. In

order that there may be uniformity, it is our pleasure, and we order that

there shall be made a general chart (_Padron General_), and that it may

be more accurate, we order our officers of the House of _Contratacion_

at Seville that they shall assemble all the ablest pilots that are to

be found in the country at the time, and that, in the presence of you,

Amerigo Despuchi, our Chief Pilot, a _padron_ of all the lands and

islands of the Indies that have hitherto been discovered belonging to our

kingdoms and lordships shall be made; and that for it, after consulting

and reasoning with those pilots, and in accord with you, the said Chief

Pilot, a general _padron_ shall be constructed, which shall be called

the _Padron Real_, by which all pilots shall be ruled and governed, and

that it shall be in the possession of the aforesaid our officers, and

of you, our Chief Pilot; and that no pilot shall use any other chart,

but only one which has been taken from the _Padron Real_, on pain of a

fine of fifty _dobles_ towards the works of the House of _Contratacion_

of the Indies in the city of Seville.

We further order all the pilots of our kingdoms and lordships who,

from this time forward, shall go to the said our lands of the Indies,

discovered or to be discovered, that, when they find new lands, islands,

bays, or harbours, or anything else, that they make a note of them for

the said _Padron Real_, and on arriving in Castille that they shall give

an account to you, the said our Chief Pilot, and to the officers of the

House of _Contratacion_ of Seville, that all may be delineated properly

on the said _Padron Real_, with the object that navigators may be better

taught and made expert in navigation. We further order that none of

our pilots who navigate the Ocean Sea, from this time forward, shall

go without their quadrant and astrolabe and the rules for working them,

under the penalty that those who do not comply be rendered incompetent

to exercise the said employment during our pleasure, and they shall not

resume such employment without our special licence, paying a fine of

10,000 maravedis towards the works of the said House of _Contratacion_

at Seville. Amerigo Despuchi shall use and exercise the said office of

our Chief Pilot, and you are empowered to do so, and you shall do all

the things contained in this letter, and which appertain to the said

office; and by this our letter, and by its copy attested by the public

notary, we order the Prince Charles, our very dear and well-beloved

son, the Infantes, Dukes, Prelates, Counts, Marquises, Ricos-Hombres,

Masters of Orders, Members of Council, and Judges of our Courts

and Chancelleries, and the other priors, commanders, sub-commanders,

castellans of our castles and forts, the magistrates, officers of justice,

knights, esquires, officers, and good men of all the cities, towns,

and villages of our kingdoms and lordships, and all captains of ships,

master mariners, pilots, mates, and all other persons whom our letter

concerns or may concern, that you have and hold as our Chief Pilot,

and consent and allow him to hold the said office, and to do and comply

with all the things in this our letter or appertaining to it; and for

their accomplishment and execution give all the favour and help that is

needful for all that is here, and for each part of it; and that the above

may come to the knowledge of all, and that none may pretend ignorance,

we order that this our letter shall be read before the public notary,

in the markets and open spaces, and other accustomed places in the said

city of Seville, and in the city of Cadiz, and in all the other cities,

towns, and villages of these kingdoms and lordships; and if hereafter

any person or persons act against it, the said justices shall execute

upon them the penalties contained in this letter, so that the above

shall be observed and shall take effect without fail; and if the one or

the others do not so comply, they shall be subject to a fine of 10,000

maravedis for our chamber. Further we order the man to whom this letter

shall be shown, that he shall appear before us in our Court, wherever we

may be for fifteen following days under the said penalty, for which we

order whatever public notary may be called for this, shall give testimony

signed with his seal, that we may know that our order has been executed.

Given in the city of Valladolid, the 6th of August, in the year of the

birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1508. I, the King.

I, Lope Cunchillos, Secretary to the Queen our Lady, caused this to be

written by order of the King her father. Witnessed: The Bishop of

Palencia; Licentiate Ximenes.

* * * * *

LAS CASAS ON THE ALLEGED FIRST VOYAGE OF AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

I.

CHAPTER CXL.

It is manifest that the Admiral Don Cristobal Colon was the first by

whom Divine Providence ordained that this, our great continent should

be discovered, and chose him for the instrument through whom all these

hitherto unknown Indies should be shown to the world. He saw it on

Wednesday, the 1st of August, one day after he discovered the island of

Trinidad, in the year of our salvation, 1498.[141] He gave it the name

of Isla Santa, believing that it was an island. He then began to enter

the Gulf of La Bellena, by the entrance called the mouth of the Serpent

by him, finding all the water fresh, and it is this entrance which forms

the island of Trinidad, separating it from the mainland called Santa. On

the following Friday, being the 3rd of August, he discovered the point

of Paria, which he also believed to be an island, giving it the name of

Gracia. But all was mainland, as in due time appeared, and still more

clearly now is it known that here there is an immense continent.

It is well here to consider the injury and injustice which that Americo

Vespucio appears to have done to the Admiral, or that those have done

who published his _Four Navigations_, in attributing the discovery of

this continent to himself, without mentioning anyone but himself. Owing

to this, all the foreigners who write of these Indies in Latin, or in

their own mother-tongue, or who make charts or maps, call the continent

America, as having been first discovered by Americo.

For as Americo was a Latinist, and eloquent, he knew how to make use of

the first voyage he undertook, and to give the credit to himself, as

if he had been the principal captain of it. He was only one of those

who were with the captain, Alonso de Hojeda, either as a mariner, or

because, as a trader, he had contributed towards the expenses of the

expedition; but he secured notoriety by dedicating his _Navigations_

to King Rene of Naples.[142] Certainly these _Navigations_ unjustly

usurp from the Admiral the honour and privilege of having been the first

who, by his labours, industry, and the sweat of his brow, gave to Spain

and to the world a knowledge of this continent, as well as of all the

Western Indies. Divine Providence reserved this honour and privilege

for the Admiral Don Cristobal Colon, and for no other. For this reason

no one can presume to usurp the credit, nor to give it to himself or

to another, without wrong, injustice, and injury committed against the

Admiral, and consequently without offence against God.

In order that this truth may be made manifest, I will here relate

truthfully, and impartially, the information on the subject which I

possess. To understand the matter it is necessary to bear in mind that

the Admiral left San Lucar, on his third voyage, on the 30th of May 1498,

and arrived at the Cape Verde Islands on the 27th of June. He sighted

the island of Trinidad on Tuesday, the 31st of July, and soon afterwards,

on Wednesday, the 1st of August, he saw the continent to the south of a

strait two leagues wide, between it and the island of Trinidad. He called

this strait the "mouth of the Serpent", and the mainland, believing it to

be an island, he named Isla Sancta. Presently, on the following Friday,

he sighted and discovered Paria, which he called Isla de Gracia, thinking

that it also was an island. An account of all these discoveries, with

a painted outline of the land, was sent by the Admiral to the Sovereigns.

This being understood, we shall now see when Americo Vespucio set out, and

with whom, to discover and trade in those parts. Those who may read this

history must know that, at that time, Alonso de Hojeda was in Castille,

when the account of the discovery and of the form of that land arrived,

which was sent by the Admiral to the Sovereigns. This report and map came

into the hands of the Bishop Don Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, afterwards

Bishop of Palencia, who had charge of all business connected with the

Indies from the beginning, and was then Archdeacon of Seville. The said

Alonso de Hojeda was a great favourite of the Bishop, and when the report

of the Admiral and the map arrived, Fonseca suggested to Hojeda to go and

make more discoveries in the same direction as the Admiral had taken. For

when the thread is discovered and placed in the hand, it is an easy

matter to reach the skein. Hojeda was aided by the information which the

Admiral had collected from the Indians when he served in the first voyage,

that there was a continent behind the lands and islands then reached. As

he had the favour and goodwill of the Bishop, he looked out for persons

who would fit out some ships, for he himself had not sufficient funds.

As he was known in Seville as a brave and distinguished man, he found,

either there, or perhaps at the port of Santa Maria, whence he sailed,

some one who enabled him to fit out four ships. The Sovereigns gave

him his commission and instructions, and appointed him captain, for the

discovery and purchase of gold and pearls, a fifth being reserved as the

royal share, and to treat of peace and friendship with people he should

meet with during the expedition.

Thus the first who went to discover after the Admiral was no other than

Alonso de Hojeda. Those whom he took, and wanted to take in his company,

consisted of the sailors who were acquainted with the voyage to those

lands, who were none others but those who had come and gone with the

Admiral. Those were the principal mariners of the time. One of them

was Juan de la Cosa Biscayan,[143] who went with the Admiral when he

discovered this island, and was afterwards with him in the Cuba and

Jamaica discovery, the most laborious voyage up to that time. Hojeda also

took with him the pilot Bartolome Roldan, who was well known in this

city of San Domingo, and who built, from their foundations, a great

number of the houses now standing in the four streets. He too had been

with the Admiral in his first voyage, and also in the discovery of Paria

and the mainland. Hojeda also took the said Americo, and I do not know

whether as pilot, or as a man instructed in navigation and learned in

cosmography. For it appears that Hojeda puts him among the pilots he

took with him.

I gather from the prologue he addressed to King Rene of Naples, in the

book of his four _Navigations_, that the said Americo was a merchant,

for so he confesses. Probably he contributed some money towards the

expenses of fitting-out the four ships, with the condition of receiving

a proportionate share of the profits. Although Americo asserts that the

King of Castille sent out the expedition, and that they went to discover

by his order, this is not true. Three or four, or ten, persons combined,

who were possessed of some money, and begged and even importuned the

Sovereigns for permission to go and discover and search, with the object

of promoting their own profits and interests. Thus Hojeda, owing to his

having got possession of the chart which the Admiral had sent home of

the mainland he had discovered, for the Sovereigns, and owing to his

having with him the pilots and mariners who had been with the Admiral,

came to discover the further part of the mainland, which will be described

in chapter 166.

It is a thing well known, and established by many witnesses, that Americo

went with Alonso de Hojeda, and that Hojeda went after the Admiral had

discovered the mainland. It is also proved by Alonso de Hojeda himself.

He was produced as a witness in favour of the Crown, when the Admiral Don

Diego Colon, next and legitimate successor of the Admiral Don Cristobal

Colon, had a lawsuit with the Crown for all the estate of which his father

had been dispossessed, as he was by the same cause. Alonso de Hojeda

testifies as follows, in his reply to the second question. He was asked "if

he knew that the Admiral Don Cristobal Colon had not discovered any part of

what is now called mainland, except when he once touched at the part called

Paria?" The answer of Hojeda was that the Admiral touched at the island

of Trinidad, and passed between that island and the "Boca del Drago",

which is Paria, and that he sighted the island of Margarita. Being asked

how he knew this, he answered that he knew it because he, the witness,

saw the chart which the said Admiral sent to Castille, to the King and

Queen our Lords, of what he had discovered at that time: and also because

he, the witness, soon afterwards went on his voyage of discovery,

and found that the Admiral's account of what he had discovered was

the truth. To the fifth question, which refers to what the same Hojeda

discovered himself beyond Paria, he replied as follows: "I was the first

to go on an exploring expedition after the discovery of the Admiral,

and I went first nearly 200 leagues to the south on the mainland, and

afterwards came to Paria, going out by the 'Boca del Drago'. There I

ascertained that the Admiral had been at the island of Trinidad, bordering

on the 'Boca del Drago'." Further on he says: "In the voyage which this

witness undertook, he took with him Juan de la Cosa and Americo Vespucio,

and other pilots."[144] Alonso de Hojeda says this, among other things,

in his deposition and statement.

Two things are thus proved by Hojeda himself. One is that he took

Americo with him, and the other that he undertook his voyage to the

mainland, after it had been discovered by the Admiral. The latter fact

is established beyond any doubt, namely, that the Admiral was the first

who discovered Paria, and that he was there before any other Christian

whatever was either there or on any other part of the mainland, nor had

any tidings of it. The Admiral Don Diego, his son, had proof of this

from sixty hearsay witnesses and twenty-five eye-witnesses, as is seen

by the records of the lawsuit, which I have not only seen but thoroughly

examined. It was also proved that it was owing to the Admiral having

first discovered these islands of the Indies, and afterwards Paria,

which is the mainland, before anyone else whatever, that the others had

the courage to follow his example and become discoverers. It may be

held for certain that no one would have undertaken to go on voyages of

discovery, and that neither the Indies nor any part of them would have

been made known if the Admiral had not led the way. This is proved by

sixteen hearsay witnesses, by forty-one who believed it, by twenty who

knew it, and by thirteen who gave evidence that in their belief the

Admiral made his discoveries before anyone else whatever. Peter Martyr

also gives the same testimony in his first Decade, chapters 8 and 9. This

author deserves more credit than any of those who have written in Latin,

because he was in Castille at the time, and knew all the explorers, and

they were glad to tell him all they had seen and discovered, as a man

in authority; and because he made his inquiries with a view to writing,

as we mentioned in the prologue of the history.

Americo confesses in his first _Navigation_ that he arrived at Paria

during his first voyage, saying: "_Et provincia ipsa Parias[145] ab ipsis

nuncupata est._" Afterwards he made the second _Navigation_, also with

Hojeda, as will appear in chapter 162.

Here it is important to note and make clear the error made by the world in

general respecting America. What I say is this: As no one had arrived at

nor seen Paria before the Admiral, and as the next explorer who arrived

was Hojeda, it follows that either Americo was with Hojeda, or came after

him. If he was with Hojeda, Hojeda was after the Admiral. The Admiral

left San Lucar on the 30th of May, and came in sight of Trinidad and the

mainland on the last day of July, and the 1st and 3rd of August, as has

been proved. How, therefore, can Americo say, without a perversion of

the truth, that he left Cadiz in his first _Navigation_ on the 20th of

May of the year of our salvation 1497? The falsehood is clear, and if the

statement was made by him in earnest, he committed a great infamy. Even

if it is not an intentional falsehood, it seems to be so; for he gives

himself an advantage of ten days as regards the Admiral, with reference

to the departure from Cadiz, for the Admiral left San Lucar on the 30th

of May, and Americo alleges that he departed from Cadiz on the 20th

of that month, and also usurps a year, for the Admiral sailed in 1498,

while Americo pretends that he set out on his first _Navigation_ in the

year 1497. It is true that there would seem to be a mistake, and not an

intentional fraud in this, for Americo says that his first _Navigation_

occupied eighteen months, and at the end he asserts that the date of

his return to Cadiz was the 15th of October 1499. If he left Cadiz on

the 20th of May 1497, the voyage occupied twenty-nine months: seven in

the year 1497, all the year 1498, and ten months in the year 1499. It

is possible that 1499 may be a misprint for 1498[146] in treating of

the return to Castille, and if this was so, there can be no doubt that

the fraud was intentional. This fraud or mistake, whichever it may

have been, and the power of writing and narrating well and in a good

style, as well as Americo's silence respecting the name of his captain,

which was Hojeda, and his care to mention no one but himself, and his

dedication to King Rene, these things have led foreign writers to name

our mainland AMERICA, as if Americo alone, and not another with him, had

made the discovery before all others. It is manifest what injustice he

did if he intentionally usurped what belonged to another, namely, to the

Admiral Don Cristobal Colon, and with what good reason this discovery,

and all its consequences, should belong to the Admiral, after the goodness

and providence of God, which chose him for this work. As it belongs more

to him, the said continent ought to be called Columba, after Colon, or

Columbo, who discovered it, or else "Sancta" or "De Gracia", the names

he himself gave it, and not America after Americo.

* * * * *