It is very certain that this account of Madog's Emigration was
not written by Caradoc, for his History comes no lower than the
year 1157; and he seems to have died about the time when this Event
took place. However, it is said by Humphry Llwyd, the Translator of
Caradoc into English, that this part of the History was compiled
from Collections made from time to time, and kept in the Abbies
of Conway in Carnarvonshire North Wales, and Strat Flur. (Strata
Florida, Cardiganshire, South Wales.) The most remarkable occurencies
in the Principality, being registered in these Abbies, were generally
compared together every third year, when the Beirdd or Bards, belonging
to these two Houses, went their ordinary Visitations, which were
called Clera. This custom prevailed till the year 1270, a little
before the death of Llewelyn the last Prince of Wales, and who
was killed near Built in Brecknockshire.
The best copy of these registers was taken by Guttun Owen, a Bard,
in the Reign of Edward the IVth. King of England, about the year
1480; before the first Voyage of Columbus; but that the continuation,
though not Caradoc's, is a true History, we have no just reason
to question.
Cynfrig ab Gronow, about the same time with Guttun Owen, mentioned
this Event. Those Bards lived between two and three Hundred Years
after Madog's Emigration; and _before_ them it is alluded to by Sir
Meredyth ab Rhy's about the year 1477. Humphry Llwyd the Translator
of Caradoc flourished in the reign of Henry the VIIIth, King of
England, about 50 or 60 years after Guttun Owen,[f] and Dr. Powel
published Llwyd's Translation, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, about
40 Years after the death of Humphry Llwyd, whose death prevented
its earlier publication.
[Footnote f: Guttun Owen was a Person of Note in the Reign of Henry
the VIIth. of England; for he was the second Person named in a
Commission issued by that Prince to search the pedigree of Owen
Tudor, that King's Grandfather. Caradoc's History. p. 325. and
Appendix, p. 334. Edit. 1697. This Commission, probably was issued
about the Year 1500, when Henry sent his Son Arthur into Wales.]
There can be little doubt, but that the writings of Guttun Owen,
Cynfrig ab Gronow, and of Sir Meredyth ab Rhys, were extant in
the Days of Llwyd and Powel, and known to many persons who lived
in the principality, as Powel did.
The next account I have met with of this Event is in Hakluyt.
"After the death of Owen Gwynedd, his Sonnes fell at debate who
should inherit after him, for the eldest Sonne born in Matrimony,
Edward, or Jorwerth Drwidion (Drwyndwn) was counted unmeet to govern
because of the maime upon his Face, and Howel that took upon him
the Rule, was a bare Sonne, begotten upon an Irish Woman. Therefore
David, another Sonne, gathered all the power he could, and came
against Howel, and fighting with him, slew him, and afterwards
enjoyed quietly the whole Land of North Wales until his Brother
Jorwerth's Sonne came to Age.
"Madoc, another of Owen Gwyneth's Sonnes, left the land in contentions
betwixt his Brethren, and prepared certain Ships with Men and munition
and fought adventures by Seas, sailing West and leaving the coast
of Ireland so farre North, that he came to a Land unknown, where
he saw many strange things.
"This Land must needs be some parts of the Countrey of which the
Spanyards affirm themselves to be the first Finders since Hauno's[g]
Time: whereupon it is manifest that that Countrey was by Britons
discovered long before Columbus led any Spanyards thither.
[Footnote g: The Carthaginian Admiral, supposed to have flourished
about 450 years before Christ.]
"Of the Voyage and return of this Madoc, there be many fables framed,
as the common people do use in distance of place and length of
time, rather to augment than to diminish, but sure it is, there
he was. And after he had returned home, and declared the pleasant
and fruitful Countries that he had seen, without Inhabitants; and
upon the contrary, for what barren and wild Ground his Brethren
and Nephews did murther one another, he prepared a number of Ships,
and got with him such Men and Women as were desirous to live in
quietness, and taking leave of his Friends, took his Journey
thitherwards again.
"Therefore it is supposed that He and his people inhabited part
of those Countries; for it appeareth by Francis Lopez de Gomara
that in Acuzamil, and other places, the people honoured the Cross.
Whereby it may be gathered that Christians had been there before
the coming of the Spanyards; but because this people were not many,
they followed the manner of the Land which they came to, and the
Language they found there.
"This Madoc arriving in that Western Countery, unto the which he
came in the year 1170, left most of his people there, and returning
back for more of his own Nation, Acquaintance and Friends to inhabit
that fair and large Countery, went thither again with Ten Sailes,
as I find noted by Guttun Owen.[h] I am of opinion that the Land
whereunto he came was some part of the West Indies.
[Footnote h: Hakluyt, says, that he derived this Account from Guttun
Owen: his writings therefore must have been extant in the Days of
Hakluyt. He does not refer to Humphry Llwyd or Dr. Powel as his
authorities. See Pagitt's Christianographie. p. 86. Ed. 2. What
he says is taken from Hakluyt. See also Francis Lopez de Gomara.
Lib. II. Chap. 16. and Postel's camp. Cosmo, p. 70. Gentleman's
Magazine, December, 1789.
Madog's Voyage is mentioned in the Turkish Spy, Vol. VIII. p. 158.
Edit. IIth.]
"Carmina Meredith Filii Rhesi, Mentionem facienda de Madoco, Filio
Oweni Gwyneth, et de sua Navigatione in Terras incognitas. Vixit
hic Meredith circiter, Annum Domini, 1477.
"Madog wyf, mwyedie Wedd
Jawn Genau, Owen Gwynedd,
Ni fynnwn Dir', f y awydd oedd,
Nid Da mawr ond y Moroedd."
These Lines were communicated to our Author he says by the celebrated
William Camden.
A Gentleman who is possessed of Sir Meredyth ab Rhys's, "Cywydd i
ddiolch am Rwyd bysgota; i lfan ab Tudor;" "An Ode to thank Evan ab
Tudor, for a Fishing Net;" obligingly favored me with the following
copy of the above Lines.
Mewu Awr dda, Minnau ar Ddwr
o fodd hael a fydd Heliwr.
Madog wych, mwyedig Wedd
Jawn Genau, Owen Gwynedd
Ni fynnai Dir', f' enaid oedd,
Na Da mawr ond y Moroedd.
Literally; "On a happy Hour, I on the water
Of Mannaers mild, the Huntsman will be
Madog bold of pleasing Countenance,
Of the true Lineage of Owen Gwyned.
He covettd not Land, his Ambition was,
Not great Wealth, but the Seas,"
As the Poet seems to be returning thanks to a Friend for a Favour, I
am of opinion that he only alludes to Madog's Success, and expressing
his Hope that he should be as successful in his pursuits. Therefore
in the third Line, I would read, not, wyf, "I am," but wych, "bold,"
"Courageous;" &c. and in the fifth Line, I would read not f' enaid
oedd, "my Soul or Ambition was," but ei enaid oedd, "His Soul,
or Ambition was."
A Gentleman, who, upon the whole, approved of these Alterations,
observed that in the fifth Line, alteration was not necessary;
for f'naid oedd, literally, "he was my Soul," was an apostrophe;
in other Words, "I revere his Memory."
The four last of the above Lines were sent to me above 30 Years
ago, by my late learned and excellent Friend, Dr. John Collet,
of Newbury, Berks, which I endeavoured to translate as above.
They were thus rendered into Latin by the late Dr. Samuel Johnson.
Inclytus hic Hæres magni requiescit Oenii,
Consessus tantum mente modoque patrem.
Servilem talis Cultum contempsit Agelli
Et petiit Terras per Freta longa novas.[i]
[Footnote i: Public Advertiser. May 25th 1787. Sir Thomas Herbert's
Translation, though faithful, is not literal.
But, in my opinion, neither He nor Dr. Johnson enter into the real
meaning of the Poet.]
It hath been said by some Writers that these Lines were found cut
upon a stone in Mexico, but this is said without Foundation. It is
much more probable that they were written, on the above occasion,
by Sir Meredyth ab Rhys, who flourished about 300 Years after Madog's
Voyages. However it is certain that they were written, at least, 15
Years before Columbus first sailed on his American Voyage; when no
European Nation had any idea of a Western Continent. Of consequence,
the Story was not invented to be the Foundation of a Dispute between
the Britons and the Spaniards about the Discovery of the New World.
Another Writer who alludes to Madog's Voyage is the Author of a
Book entitled "a brief Description of the whole World." Edit. 5th.
London Printed, for John Marriott, 1620.
"I am not ignorant that some who make too much of vain Shews, and
of the British Antiquities, have given out to the World, and written
some things to that purpose, that Arthur some time King of Britain
had both Knowledge of those parts (the New World) and some Dominion
in them; for they find (as some report) that King Arthur had under
his Government many Islands and great Countries towards the North
and West, which one of some special Note hath interpreted to signify
America, and the Northern parts thereof, and thereupon have gone about
to entitle the Queen of England (Elizabeth) to be the Soveraigne of
these Provinces by right of Descent from King Arthur. But the Wisdom
of our State has been such as to neglect that Opinion, imagining
it to be grounded upon fabulous Foundations, as many things are,
that are asserted of King Arthur. Only this doth convey some Shew
with it, that, now some Hundred Years, there was a Knight of Wales
who with Shipping, and some pretty Company did go to discover these
parts, whereof, as there is some record of reasonable Credit amongst
the Monuments of Wales, so there is nothing which giveth pregnant
Shew thereunto, that in the late Navigations of some of our Menta
Norumbega, and some other northern parts of America they found
some tokens of Civility and Christian Religion; but especially
they do meet with some Words of the Welsh Language, as that a Bird
with a white Head should be called Penguinn, and other such like;
yet because we have now invincible certainty thereof, and if any
thing were done, it was only in the Northern and worse part, and
the Intercourse between Wales and those parts in the space of 700
Years, was not continued, but quite silenced, we may go forward
with that opinion that these Western Indies were no way known to
former ages."
From this Extract we learn that in the Days of Queen Elizabeth a
Tradition prevailed, that at some former Period, Britons went to
America. But that this happened in the Days of King Arthur, and
that he had knowledge of Foreign Countries, or any Dominion in
them, is altogether in-incredible. The Knight of Wales, mentioned
by our Author certainly was Prince Madog; but his Emigration is
placed too early by about 400 years; for all Writers agree, that
if he sailed at all, it was in 1169, or 1170. The above Book was
written during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, who ascended the Throne
in 1558; and consequently the interval between Madog's Voyages,
and Elizabeth's Accession, was only about 400 Years. However, the
Tradition generally prevailed, and was supported by _one of Special
Note_, in that Reign, when Dr. Powel published the History of Caradoc,
together with Humphry Llwyd's and his own Additions.
The next Account of Prince Madog's Adventures, I have met with
is in Hornius De Originibus Americanis. Hagæ Comitis, 1652. What
he hath advanced is much the same, and contains little more, as
he himself says, than Extracts from Llwyd, Hakluyt, and Powel.
His Observations on the Subject are the following.
Ex his concludit omnillo Madocum cum Suis Cambris aliquam partem
Americæ Septentrionalis obtinuisse. Nec aliter statuet quisquis
hanc Navigationem cum Situ Terrarum, vel obiter, contulerit. Nam
post Hiberniam nullæ navigantibus occurrunt terræ nisi Bermudæ
ab omni ævo incultæ, et postea ingens America. Cumque Zephyrum
versus Cursum direxerit Madocus, dubium non est in ipsam devenerit
Virginiam vel novam Angliam, ibique suos exposuerit. Nec obstat quod
tradunt incultam suisse, et Hominibus vacuam Regionem: Vastissimæ
illæ Terræ sunt, et nostro quoque ævo post sex Secula maligne
habitantur. Præterea Tractus ille ad quem Madac appulit desertus
esse potuit; cum tamen alia Loca et interiores partes barbaros
Chichimecas haberent, quibus permixti Cambri et intermissa illa
Navigatione, Linguam Moresque patrios exuerint. In hac vehementer me
confirmant Indigenarum Traditiones. Nam Virginiani et Guahutemallæ
antiquis Temporibus Madocum quendam velut Heroem coluerunt. De
Viginianis Martyr, Dec. VII. C. 3. De Guahutemallis, Dec. VIII C.
5. Habemus _Matec Zungam_ et _Mat Ingam_, qui cur Madoc Camber esse
nequeat quem in eos partes delatum domestica evincunt Monumenta,
ratio nulla reddi potest. Ad antiquitatem, quinque illa Secula
sussiciunt quousque altissima Americanorum Memoria, nec sere ultra,
adscendit.[k]
[Footnote k: Hornius, ubi Supra. Lib. III. Chap. 2. p. 134, &c.]
"From hence He (Hakluyt) concludes that Madog with his Cambrians
discovered a part of North America. A cursory attention to the
Figure of the Earth must convince every one, that on this Direction,
he must have landed on that Continent: for beyond Ireland, no Land
can be found except Bermuda, to this Day (about 1650) uncultivated,
but the extensive Continent of America. As Madog directed his course
Westward, it cannot be doubted but that he fell in with Virginia
or New England, and there settled. Nor is this contradicted by
its being said that the Country was uninhabited and uncultivated,
for that Country is very extensive, and in our Times, after Six
Centuries, is but thinly Peopled. Besides, that Tract on which
Madog landed might be desert, and yet other Places in the interior
Parts possessed by the barbarous Chichimecas[l] might be populous,
with whom the Cambrians mingled; and the communication being droped,
(between them and their mother Country) they adopted the Language,
and the manners of the Country. The Traditions prevailing among the
Natives strongly confirm me in this Opinion; for the Virginians
and Guahutemallians, from ancient Times, worshiped one Madog as an
Hero. Concerning the Virginians, See Martyr Decade the VII. chap.
3. concerning the Guahutemallians, Decade VIII. chap. 5. Among them
we have Matec Zungam and Mat Jngam, and why this should not be
Madog the Cambrian, whom the Monuments in the Country prove to
have been in those parts, no reason can be given. As to Antiquity,
five Centuries are sufficient, beyond which American Traditions
do not ascend."[m]
[Footnote l: A barbarous People to the North West of Mexico.]
[Footnote m: There were two or more Peter Martyrs; the Person here
referred to, was Peter Martyr, the celebrated civilian of Anghiera
or Angleria, in Italy. He lived in the Court of Ferdinand the fifth,
King of Spain, called the Catholic. In a volume of his Works which
I have consulted he calls himself, "Peter Martyr, Angi Mediolanen,
Consiliarii regii, Pronotarii apost." It is dedicated to Charles
the 5th of Spain, and printed at Basil, by Bebelius 1533. He was
born in 1445, and died in 1525. The date of the first Chapter of
the first Decade is, Ex Hispana Curia Jdus Novem. 6. 1493. and of
the 2d Chapter, Ex Hispana Curia tertio Calend Maii 1494. See also
the 10th Chapter of the 2d Decade. Columbus sailed on his first
Voyage in the Autumn of of 1492, and returned about February or March,
1493. Hence it appears that Peter Martyr was in the Spanish Court
when Columbus returned from his first Voyage; for his first Letter
is dated about 6 or 7 Months afterwards. Peter Martyr, therefore,
ought to be considered as a decisive Evidence that some Nations in
America, honored the Memory of one Madog, when Columbus landed
on that Coast.
See Nouveau Dictionaire Historique, Ou Histoire abregee, &c. par
une Sociate' de gens de Letres 6mo. Edition. 1786, Paris.]
This Author in the former part of this Chapter, says, Nam ubi
demonstratum suerit, Madocum cambriæ principem olim cum fuæ Gentis
Hominibus novas in Occidente invenisse Terras et inhabitasse: ejus
etiam nomen ac memoriam adhuc inter barbaros superesse, nihil fere
quod amplius ambigamus, restabit. "For when it is demonstrated that
Madog, a Prince of Cambria, with some of his Nation, discovered
and inhabited some Lands in the West, and that his Name and Memory
are still retained among them, scarcely any doubt remains."
In the above observations, we have as it appears to me, a clear
proof that Madog visited America, several centuries before the
Spaniards. Matec Zungam, and Mat Jngam, seem to be plain corruptions
of the Name, Madog, the Hero whose Memory was retained, if not
revered, by those who were descended from his Colony.
In the Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. X, for the Year 1740. p. 103,
&c. the following Narrative is inserted.
"These presents may certify all persons whatever, that in the Year
1660, being an Inhabitant of Virginia, and Chaplain to Major General
Bennet of Mansoman County, the said Major Bennet find Sir William
Berkeley sent two Ships to Port Royal, now called South Carolina,
which is sixty Leagues to the Southward of Capefair, and I was
sent therewith to be their Minister. Upon the 8th of April we set
out from Virginia, and arrived at the Harbour's Mouth of Port Royal
the 19th of the same Month, where we waited for the rest of the
Fleet that was to sail from Barbadoes and Bermuda with one Mr.
West, who was to be Deputy Governor of the said Place. As soon as
the Fleet came in, the smallest Vessels that were with us sailed
up the River to a place called the Oyster Point. There I continued
about 8 months, all which time being almost starved for want of
provisions, I and 5 more travelled through the Wilderness, till we
came to the Tuscorara Country. There the Tuscorara Indians took us
prisioners, because we told them that we were bound to Roanock.[n]
That night they carried us to their Town, and shut us up close to
our no small dread. The next Day they entered into a consultation
about us, which after it was over their Interpreter told us that we
must prepare ourselves to die next Morning. Whereupon being very
much dejected and speaking to this Effect in the British Tongue,
'Have I escaped so many Dangers, and must I now be knocked on the Head
like a Dog;' then presently an Indian came to me, which afterwards
appeared to be a War Captain belonging to the Sachem of the Doegs,
(whose Original I find must needs be from the Old Britons) and
took me up by the middle, and told me in the British Tongue, I
should not die, and thereupon went to the Emperor of Tuscorara,
and agreed for my Ransom, and the Men that were with me. They then
wellcomed us to their Town, and entertained us very civilly and
cordially four months; during which time I had the opportunity of
conversing with them familiarly in the British Language, and did
preach to them three times a Week in the same Language; and they
would confer with me about any thing that was difficult therein;[o]
and at our Departure, they abundantly supplied us with whatever
was necessary to our Support and Well-doing. They are setled upon
Pontigo River,[p] not far from Cape Atros. This is a brief recital
of my Travels, among the Doeg Indians. Morgan Jones, the Son of
John Jones of Basaleg, near Newport, in the County of Monmouth.
I am ready to conduct any Welshman, or others to the Country. New
York, March 10th, 1685-6."
[Footnote n: An Harbour at the Mouth of Albemarle River in North
Carolina.]
[Footnote o: When it is considered that Mr. Jones's Visit to these
Nations was near 500 Years after the Emigration of Prince Madog,
it can be no Wonder that the Language of both Mr. Jones and the
Indians was very much altered. After so long a period Mr. Jones must
have been obliged to make use of Words and Phrases, in preaching
Christianity, with which they must have been altogether unacquainted.
Besides, all living Languages are continually changing; therefore
during so many Centuries, the Original Tongue must have been very
much altered, by the Introduction of New Words borrowed from the
Inhabitants of the Country. Though the Language was radically the
same, yet Mr. Jones, especially, when treating of abstracted subjects,
was hardly intelligible to them, without some Explanations. We are told
that the Religious Worship of the Mexicans, with all its Absurdities,
was less superstitious than that of the ancient and learned Greeks
and Romans. May we not hence conclude that the Mexicans derived
some part of their Religious Knowledge from a People enlightned by
a divine Revelation; which, tho' very much corrupted in the Days
of Madoc, yet was superior to Heathen Darkness. Clavigero, Hist.
of Mexico. Monthly Review, Vol. 65. p. 462, &c.]
[Footnote p: Pontigo, seems to have been derived from the Welsh
Pont y Go. "The Smith's Bridge;" or Pant y Go, "The Smith's Valley."
Perhaps a Smith dwelt by the Side of a River, or near a Bridge.
Dr. Robertson says, History of America, Vol. II. p. 126, that the
Indians were very ignorant of the use of Metals; Artificers in
Metals were scarce, and on that account a Name might be given to a
Bridge or Valley where one dwelt. Doeg Indians, may be a corruption
of Madog's Indians. Cape Atros, Cape Hateras; near Cape Fair in
Carolina, which last may be Cape Mair, the Cape of Mary, i. e.
the Virgin Mary.--I would just observe that some parts in Europe
seem to have derived their Names from the Welsh. Armorica, has
been thought Latin, yet it is most likely to be Welsh. Ar-y-môr
"upon the Sea," which particularly is the Situation of Bretagne,
in France, twice peopled from Great Britain.]
This Letter was sent or given to Dr. Thomas Lloyd of Pensylvania,
by whom it was transmitted to Charle Llwyd Esq. of Dôl y frân in
Montgomeryshire; and afterwards to Dr. Robert Plott by Edward Llwyd,
A. M. Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Mr. Theophilus Evans, a Welch Clergyman, who communicated the above
Letter to the Editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, was Vicar of
St. David's in Brecon, well acquainted with the History of the
Principality. He has made several judicious remarks upon it.[q]
[Footnote q: It may be supposed that the above Letter was published
about the beginning of the Spanish War in 1740, with a view of
justifying that War; but the Story was not then invented, for it
has been above shewn that the Tradition concerning Madog, was well
known long before Elizabeth's reign; nay, long before she was born.]
He observes that the truth of Madog's Voyage is confirmed by it;
that several Circumstances unite to establish the Fact; and that
several British Words were used by the Mexicans when their Country
was discovered by the Spaniards; such as Pengwyn, "White Head," the
name, not only of a Bird, but also given to high and bare Rocks.[r]
Groeso "Wellcome." Gwenddwr, "white or limpid Water." Bara, "Bread."
Tâd, "Father." Mam "Mother." Buch or Buwch, "a Cow." Clug-Jâr, "a
Partridge, or Heath Cock" (Clugar is now the Armorican name of a
Partridge.) Llwynog, "a Fox," Coch y dwr, "a red water Bird," Many
others are mentioned by Sir Thomas Herbert, in his Travels.
[Footnote r: Several Travellers say that the Birds called Pengwyn
have not a White Head: that is, in the Countries where they saw
them. But is it not certain that some Birds vary in Plumage in
different Climates? In this Island the Royston Crow, as it in called
is different in its Plumage from other Crows.]
Mr. Jones's Narrative shews that the Descendants of Madog's Colony
were, in some measure, a distinct people in the Year 1660. He not
only conversed freely with them, but preached to them in his Native
Tongue.
When the Spaniards conquered, or rather massacred the Inhabitants
of Mexico, they found among them some traces of Christianity. The
sign of the Cross was highly honoured, possibly worshiped by them.
Having been so many Ages separated from other Christians, their
Religion, more and more, degenerated into Superstition; as,
notwithstanding superior advantages, it did in Europe and in Asia.
Besides, the Similarity of Dialects in different places, already
taken notice of, inclines me to believe that Madog's Colony, in
process of Time, extended itself much farther than the Country
on which they first landed; for we find several British Words in
other places, and in some of the West Indian Islands.[s]
[Footnote s: About 90 Leagues to the South East of Mauritius, an
Island in the East Indian Ocean, possessed by the French, there
is another island about 50 Miles round, former called Degarroys,
at present, Deigo Rayes, which name seems derived from the British
Word, Digarad, "unlovely." "utterly forsaken." "Void of all human
Beings." This was the state of the Island in the last Century,
but whether it be now peopled or not, I cannot say. However, it
is well furnished with provisions. See Herberts Travels.]
The Island Curassoa, or Curazao, possessed by the Dutch, may have
had its name from the British Word, Croesaw, or Croeso, "Wellcome;"
possibly so called for Joy at the sight of Land after a long and
dangerous Voyage. Cape Breton, may also have had its name from
these ancient Navigators, who possibly touched at it in one of their
Voyages.
To strengthen these Conjectures, it is observable that Montezuma,
Emperor of Mexico, on his submission to Cortez, said that their
Chiefs were of foreign Extraction; and, when the above Circumstances
are attended to, we may be disposed to believe that these Foreigners
were ancient Britons[t]
[Footnote t: See the Preface to Charlevoix's Travels through America,
and Howel's Letters. Vol. II. Letter 56. p. 77 Edit. 2. This Writer,
who died in 1666, says that the Ancient Italian Bards, much resembled
the Welsh Bards, in alliteration. This seems to intimate that the
British Tongue, or Manners, in some distant Period, were known
and followed in some parts of Italy.]
I know not of any Objection to the Account given by Humphry Llwyd
and Dr. Powel, confirmed by Mr Jones's Narrative, but what is grounded
upon the very low Estimation in which the Ancient British Writers
are now undeservedly held.
For Argument's sake, let us suppose that the Original Britons were,
in general, a stupid, foolish race of Men, might there not have
arisen, _even_, among them, in the space of 700, or 800 Years,
_one_ Man blessed with some sagacity and penetration? In early times
the Saxons were a barbarous and savage people. I do not recollect
to have heard of a single instance of Saxon Knowledge or Learning,
before they came to Britain about the Year 449, of Christ. The
Original Inhabitants of this Island were, in some degree, celebrated
for literary Acquisitions in the Days of Julius Cæsar, near 500
Years before the arrival of the Saxons.[u]
[Footnote u: Warrington's History of Wales. p. 101. Edit. 2. The
Saxons were so very illiterate when they were called to Britain
by Vortigern, in Welsh, Gwrtheyrn, that they could neither write
nor read. And for that reason Messengers were sent to them from
Britain, with a verbal Invitation. Mr. Llwyd has proved that the
Welsh furnished the Anglo-Saxons with an Alphabet. See a Welsh
Book entitled Drych y prif Oesoedd, "a view of the Primitive Ages,"
by the above named Mr. Theophilus Evans. p. 96. note. Edit. 2.
and Rowlands Mona Antigua restorata.]
Though contrary to History, let us suppose that the Britons were
void of all Understanding and Judgment, of all literary Merit;
that doth not, in the least, affect the Truth of Prince Madog's
Emigration; for by all that appears, it was not owing to Knowledge
or Judgment, but was the consequence of Necessity and Prudence.
This Prince, however dull and sottish, might have sense enough to
see that be could no where be in a worse condition than he was in
his Native Country. There he could not live in safety, being always
surrounded by a lawless Banditti, who sacrificed their Friends,
Relations, and even their Parents, to inherit their Dominions or
Possessions, which after all, for the most part, were only a small
beggarly, wild, and uncultivated District; ragged Rocks and Precipices;
barren Mountains; or boggy, unfruitful, and unfriendly Soil.
If an Objection be made to the Truth of Madog's Voyages, grounded
upon the silence of History for so many Years, it may with no great
difficulty be answered.[v]
[Footnote v: The History of the Gwedir Family by Sir John Wynne,
published by the Honorable Daines Barrington, 1773, and afterwards
in his Miscellanies, in 1781, takes no notice of Madog's Voyages;
but mentions him as a Son of Owen Gwynedd. This Author was born in
1553, and died in 1626. He seems, chiefly, at least, to enumerate
those Branches of Owen Gwynedd's Descendants, who were his own
Ancestors. The present Sir Thomas Wynne, Bart. and Lord Newborough
of the Kingdom of Ireland is, I think, a Descendant of our Author.]
The only History of that Period of British affairs were the Registers
kept at Conway, and Strata Florida, above mentioned; or which Guttun
Owen took the most exact and perfect Copy; and the Odes of the
Bards, for several Years afterwards.[w] These are the only records
we have of there Times.
[Footnote w: It may naturally be supposed that many Historical
Documents perished, when the Bards were destroyed by King Edward
the Ist.]
Objections shall be more particularly considered when I come to
consider what Lord Lyttlelton and Dr. Robertson have advanced on
this Subject.
The Antients were incapable of pursuing foreign discoveries by
Land or Sea. Their notion of the Figure of the Earth was not just,
for most of them thought that it was a flat extensive plain. Their
Knowlege of Astronomy was very much confined; and their Ignorance of
the Properties of the Loadstone would prevent their undertaking any
Voyage of Consequence. Supposing the Country which Madog discovered
was not America, yet to say the Story is a late Invention, and
forged after the discovery of that Continent by Columbus, with a
View to set up a prior Claim to it, is plainly false; for, besides
the testimony of Peter Martyr, respecting Names and Customs, we know
that the Fact had been celebrated by Welsh Bards before Columbus
first sailed to the West.[x]
[Footnote x: The Welsh Bards were also Historians. They were retained
in great Families to record the actions of their Ancestors, and their
own, in Odes and Songs. Their poems, therefore, may be considered,
as History, sometimes, probably, in some degree, embellished. Out
of Hatred to the Church of Rome, they seem, occasionly, to have
written something in the name of Taliossyn, &c. But the Voyage
of Prince Madog had nothing to do with Religion.]
Some Writers have said, that it was not to America our Welsh Prince
sailed, and in proof say, that America was well known in the 9th
and 10th Centuries. It is most certain that it was well known to
its Inhabitants for thousands of Years. But that it was at all
known to any European before the 12th Century, at soonest, is
incredible. (See page 12th, &c) for there is not even the Shadow of
Authority for it. We are also told that Greenland was the Country
to which Madog sailed, which is by no means probable, nor, indeed,
possible; because it contradicts every historical Evidence that
we have. Had he sailed to Greenland, he must have left Ireland to
the South, on his left Hand, whereas we are expressly told that
he left it to the North, on his right Hand. Besides, it is said, by
all Writers on the subject, that the Country which Madog discovered
was fair, fruitful and pleasant, but Greenland is a miserable, poor
Country; so excessively cold that all attempts to settle in it,
have failed; for the persons left there have always perished. In
comparison with Greenland, therefore, this Prince's Native Country,
was a Paradise. Farther, I cannot learn that the Greenlanders in
their Persons, Manners, and Customs bear any resemblance to the
Ancient Britons; which some American Tribes plainly do. When we
compare circumstances together, we shall be led, with Hakluyt, to
conclude that Madog landed on some part of New England, Virginia,
&c. and that in process of time the Colony extended itself Southward
to Mexico, and other places; and that those Foreign Ancestors of
the Mexican Chiefs, of whom the Spanish Writers often speak in
their accounts of Cortez's Adventures, were Ancient Britons.
The probability that Madog sailed to, or was driven upon some part
of the American Continent seems, evident, though perhaps, we have
not facts sufficiently clear to demonstrate it.
In those ages, before the Invention of the Compass, of the art of
Printing, and of Gun-powder, the Welsh had very few advantages to
boast of above the Native Americans: thence we may conclude that
Madog and his Colony landed amicably, and that they were received
by the Natives with Cordiality.
That so extraordinary an Event should not excite either the English
or the Welsh to attempt a Discovery of their hardy Countrymen, and
their New Settlement, can only be accounted for by the Ignorance
and poverty of the times. It is most natural to suppose that the
English knew nothing of this Expedition from a Province which
acknowleged not their Authority, and with which they were almost
continually at War, and whose Inhabitants they would have been
exceedingly glad to hear were all gone away: and the poverty of
the Welsh, robbed of their Inheritance by the usurping Saxons,
Normans, and Flemings, would effectually prevent their making any
attempts.
In short, Mr. Jones's recital of his Travels confirms the Truth of
Prince Madog's Emigration and settlement in some part of America;
for it expressly says, that in the Year 1660, there were some whole
Tribes in North America, who spoke Welsh, and therefore most have
descended from the Ancent Britons.[y]
[Footnote y: I am obliged to a learned Welsh Divine for several
of the above Observations.]
A Letter written by Charles Lloyd, Esq. of Dôl y frân, in
Montgomeryshire, already mentioned, published in 1777, by the Revd.
N. Owen, junr. A. M. in a pamphlet entitled, "British Remains,"
strongly confirms Mr. Jones's Narrative, and of consequence, the
Truth of Madog's Voyages. Mr. Lloyd says, in a Letter, that he
had been inform- by a Friend, that one Stedman of Breconshire,
about 30 Years before the Date of his Letter, was on the Coast of
America in a Dutch Bottom, and being about to land for refreshment,
the Natives kept them off by Force, till at last this Stedman told
his fellow Dutch Seamen that he understood what the Natives spoke.
The Dutch bade him speak to them, and they were thereupon very
courteous; they supplied them with the best things they had, and
told Stedman, that they came from a Country called Gwynedd, (North
Wales) in Prydam, (prydain) fawr, Great Britain.[z] It is supposed
by Mr. Lloyd that this place was situated between Virginia and
Florida. It is farther said by this Gentleman, that one Oliver
Humphreys, a Merchant, who died, not long before the Date of this
Letter, told him, that when he lived at Surinam, he spoke with an
English Privateer or Pirate, who being near Florida a careening
his Vessel, had learnt, as he thought the Indian Language, which
his Friend said was perfect Welsh. "My Brother, Mr. Lloyd adds,
having heard this, (Mr. Jones's Adventures) and meeting with this
Jones at New York, desired him to write it, with his own Hand,
in his House; and to please me and my Cousin Thomas Price (of
Llanvyllin) he sent me the Original. This Jones lived within 12
Miles of New-York, and was Contemporary with me and my Brother
at Oxford. He was of Jesus College, and called then Senior Jones,
by Way of distinction."
[Footnote z: This must be a mistake, for this Island was not called
Great Britain, at soonest, till the Accession of James the first;
Or, these Welsh People were the Descendants of a New Colony from
Britain, since James's Accession. The latter is most probable, for
the Stuart Family had been on the English Throne about 40 Years,
when this Oliver Humphreys died.]
The Flight of Jones this Gentlemen supposes to have taken place
about the time of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, and that he was
with the Indians about the Year 1669.[aa]
[Footnote aa: Mr. Jones's Narrative says 1660: this Gentleman,
says, 1669; but Mr. Jones's is the best Authority, for his Narrative
is dated March 10th 1685-6, some Years before the time that Mr.
Lloyd supposes that he was among the Indians. The other Date is
either, 1675, or 1673-4.