1504-1524.
The competitive zeal which Portugal, Spain, and England had displayed,
in searching for a short water-way to the eastern coast of Asia, in time
quickened the ambition of France to emulate these maritime powers in
discovering a desirable route across the Atlantic to the vast domains of
the Grand Khan of Cathay. The Gulf of St. Lawrence, as early as the year
1504, was frequented by the fishing vessels of France. The exploration of
the coast of the New Land, north of the present Atlantic territory of the
United States of America, is described by a famous French sea-captain of
Dieppe, in 1539.
“The said land, that part running east and west [Cape Breton Island and
Nova Scotia?], was discovered about thirty-five years ago by the Bretons
[Britons?] and Normans; hence this land has been called the Cape of the
Bretons [Britons?].
“The other part [Newfoundland?] running north and south from Cape Ras to
Cape Buona Vista, including nearly seventy leagues, was discovered by the
Portuguese, and the remainder, as far as the Gulf of Castiles [north of
the Strait of Belle Isle], and still farther, was discovered by the said
Bretons [Britons?] and Normans.[361]
“About thirty-three years ago, a ship of Honfleur first went there, of
which vessel Jean Denis was captain, and Gamart, of Rouen, pilot. In the
year 1508, a ship of Dieppe, called La Pensée, owned by Jean Ango, father
of the captain and viscount of Dieppe, sailed there, the master or patron
of the said ship being Thomas Aubert, and he was the first person who
brought here people from that country.”[362]
In company with the Pensée, another ship, commanded by Giovanni da
Verrazzano, also sailed from the port of Dieppe. The two entering the
river of St. Lawrence, ascended it to the distance of eighty leagues.
The exploration of the river is thus described: “The people of Dieppe
continued their commercial intercourse with the East Indies. When they
heard of the discoveries which the Spaniards had made in America, they
found their emulation incited, and they equipped two vessels to discover
whether that part of the world did not extend its coast to the north.
They intrusted the command of the ships to two of their most skillful
captains, named Thomas Aubert and Jean Vérassen. These two ships sailed
from Dieppe at the beginning of the year 1508, and discovered the same
year the St. Lawrence River, to which they gave the name of Saint
Lawrence because they began to ascend it on this saint’s day [the tenth
of August]. They explored the river for more than eighty leagues, finding
the inhabitants friendly, with whom they made very profitable exchanges
for peltries.”[363]
As related in the chronicle of Eusebius, printed at Paris in 1512, it
appears that Aubert and Verrazzano, on their departure from the New
Land, carried to France a number of natives. Under the date of 1509, it
is said: “Seven wild men were brought from that island (which is called
the New Land) to Rouen with their canoe, clothing, and weapons. They are
of a sooty color, with thick lips, and bearing marks on the face drawn
like blue veins along the cheek-bones from the ear to the middle of the
chin; with black hair and coarse like a horse’s mane; having no beard
throughout the whole life; no hair on any part of the body, except on
the head and eyebrows. They wear a girdle to cover their nakedness, in
which girdle is a sort of pouch; they form a dialect with their lips;
religion they have none. Their canoe is bark, which a man can lift on his
shoulders with one hand. Their weapons are large bows, the strings being
intestines or sinews of animals; their arrows are canes barbed with flint
or fish-bone. Their food is boiled flesh; their drink water. Of bread and
wine and money they have not the least use. They go naked or clad in the
skins of beasts,—bears, deer, sea-calves, and the like. Their country,
parallel to the seventh climate,[364] is nearer the West[365] than France
is farther from it.”[366]
Although for a number of years, at the beginning of the sixteenth
century, this part of North America was visited by English, French, and
Portuguese seamen, it appears that no navigator had yet sailed along
the peculiarly marked and sinuous coast of the new continent between
the thirty-fourth and the forty-fifth parallels of north latitude.
Fortunately for France, Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine, who, in
1508, had sailed with Aubert to the New Land, was sent a second time on a
voyage of discovery toward the west.[367] As pertinently said by Asher:
“What Cadamosta had done for Portugal, Columbus for Spain, John Cabot for
England, that Verrazzano did for France.”[368]
The history of Verazzano’s second visit to America rightly begins with
the attempt of the king of Portugal, in 1523, to impede the sailing of
the vessels preparing for the voyage. The means which King John III. of
Portugal employed to frustrate this undertaking are partly described by
D’Andrada, the Portuguese historian. He says: “At that time the king was
told by some Portuguese doing business in France that one João Varezano
[Giovanni da Varrazzano], a Florentine, offered himself to Francis to
discover other kingdoms in the East, which the Portuguese had not found,
and that in the ports of Normandy a fleet was making ready, under the
patronage of the admirals of the coast and the dissimulation of Francis,
to plant a colony in Santa Cruz, called Brazil, discovered and laid down
by the Portuguese on the second voyage to India.[369] Accordingly, he
[King John III.] sent to France an embassador, João da Silveyra, son of
Fernão da Silveyra, who delayed his going no longer than was necessary to
get ready.”[370]
On his arrival at the court of France, Silveyra pursued his
investigations respecting the expedition, and on the twenty-fifth of
April, 1523, wrote to King John III., saying:
“By what I hear Master João Verazano, who is going on the discovery
of Cathay, has not left up to this date for want of opportunity, and
because of differences, I understand, between himself and men; and on
this point, although knowing nothing positively, I have written my doubts
in accompanying letters. I shall continue to doubt, unless he take his
departure.”[371] Silveyra, according to what is said by D’Andrada,
“accomplished nothing he had in hand except to delay the voyage of the
Florentine.”
Notwithstanding the secret machinations of the king of Portugal,
four vessels were finally fitted out and placed under the command of
Verrazzano, “to discover new lands.” Late in the year 1523, the fleet
set sail, but having encountered a severe storm in the North Sea, all
the ships were disabled, and Verrazzano, having returned to Brittany to
repair the two barques, La Normandie and La Dauphine, afterward sailed in
the Dauphine to the New Land.[372]
When he returned to France, he wrote an interesting letter to Francis
I., king of France, dated “on board the ship La Dauphine, in the port
of Dieppe, in Normandy, July 8, 1524.”[373] In this communication
Verrazzano relates what had happened to his fleet in the North Sea, how
he had carried out the orders of the king by sailing in the Dauphine
toward the west to go to Cathay, where and when he discovered a new land
never before seen by men of ancient or modern times. He then describes
the people inhabiting the country, speaks of its various productions,
mentions the peculiar physical features of its coast, tells how many
leagues he had sailed along it, and concludes with a brief review of
the discoveries made to the year 1524 in the western hemisphere. His
remarks concerning his failure to find a convenient harbor where he
first descried land, of his unsuccessful search for one south of the
thirty-fourth parallel, of his steering afterward toward the north in
quest of a haven, and of his disappointment in this direction, are so
applicable to the peculiar features of this part of the eastern coast
of the United States, that it is easy to perceive that he faithfully
pictures the shores of South Carolina and North Carolina, along which he
began his explorations. The comparisons he makes respecting the natives,
the flora, the fauna, the climate, and the harbors of the more northern
part of the coast, prove that he had travelled extensively in other
parts of the world, and that he was well informed concerning the things
he commented upon in his letter. His geographical knowledge is far in
advance of that of the scientific men of his time, and he constantly
shows that he was practically acquainted with all the known means which
were then used to ascertain longitude, latitude, and the measurement
of distances. His opinion that the Orient extended around to the New
Land was well founded, since it was not known until the eighteenth
century that Behring’s Strait separated America from Asia. His reasoning
concerning the dimensions of the new continent, that if its breadth
corresponded to the extent of its sea-coast it doubtless exceeded Asia
in size, is logically correct. Verrazzano’s hopefulness that information
of a more satisfactory character respecting the extent of the territory
of the New Land would be obtained by other explorers, shows that he was
less thoughtful of the brilliancy of his own achievements than he was of
the more desirable and important results of future voyages to that part
of the present coast of the United States, between the thirty-fourth and
forty-fifth parallels, of which he is rightfully entitled to be regarded
the discoverer. Verrazzano wrote:[374]
“Most Serene Sire:
“After the past fortune on the northern coasts I did not write
to your most serene and Christian majesty concerning the
success of the four vessels ordered to the ocean to discover
new lands, thinking that you would be informed of all: how, by
the impetuous stress of the winds, we were compelled, with only
the ships La Normandie and La Dauphine, in a damaged condition,
to put back to Brittany, where they were mended. Your serene
majesty has heard of the wandering course we made with these,
armed as in war, along the shores of Spain, and afterward of
the new purpose to pursue, with the Dauphine alone, the first
voyage, from which having returned, I will give your serene
majesty an account of what we discovered.[375]
“From the desert-rock[376] in the sea, near the island of
Madeira of the most serene king of Portugal, we departed with
the said Dauphine, on the seventeenth of the past month of
January, with fifty men, furnished with provisions, arms, and
other martial instruments, and naval stores for eight months.
Sailing westwardly, an easterly wind blowing pleasantly and
moderately, we ran in twenty-five days 800 leagues.[377] On the
fourteenth of February (_il di 14 Febbrajo_), we encountered a
storm as severe as any one navigating ever experienced, from
which we were enabled with divine help and goodness to escape,
to the praise of the glorious and fortunate name of the ship,
which endured the violent waves of the sea, and we pursued
our voyage, continuing toward the west, holding a little to
the north. In twenty-five more days (_in venti cinque altri
giorni_), we ran 400 other leagues, when there appeared a new
land, never before seen by men in ancient or modern times.
“At first it seemed to be somewhat low. On approaching it
within a quarter of a league, we saw by the large fires made
on the shore that it was inhabited. We observed that the coast
trended toward the south, and we inspected it to discover some
harbor which we might enter with the ship to examine the nature
of the land, but for fifty leagues along it we could not find a
convenient haven where we could safely stay. Seeing the coast
continued to run toward the south, we determined to turn and go
back to the north, where we found the same want of harbors as
we ascended the coast.”
[Illustration: A copy of a part of the map of the fourth part of the
world in the French work, “La Cosmographie Universelle,” by André Thevet,
printed in Paris in 1575. (The original part is about one-third larger.)]
The New Land (_Nuova Terra_), discovered by Verrazzano, was first seen by
him on the tenth of March, (_old style_,) being that part of the coast of
the continent now included in the present territory of North Carolina,
north of Cape Fear,[378] on the thirty-fourth parallel of north latitude.
It appears that Verrazzano had thought of finding land on his way to the
Indies, for he says: “My intention in this voyage was to reach Cathay,
on the extreme coast of Asia, expecting, however, to find in the newly
discovered land some such obstacle as I found.”
“Ordering a boat to carry us ashore, we beheld,” says Verrazzano, “many
people who had collected on the beach. Seeing us approaching, they fled.
Some, however, turned and gazed at us with much curiosity. Assuring
them by various signs, a number came near, manifesting great delight in
scrutinizing the peculiarities of our clothing, figure, and whiteness.
They indicated by signs where we could most easily land with the boat,
and proffered us some of their food. What we were able to learn of their
life and customs while on land, I will briefly relate to your majesty.
“They go nearly naked, wearing only about the loins some skins of small
animals similar to the martens. A girdle of woven grass encircles the
body, to which they fasten the tails of animals, which hang down as far
as the knees. All the rest of the body is nude, as is also the head. Some
of them wear drapery in like manner made of the feathers of birds. The
color of these people is black (_neri_), not very different from that
of the Ethiopians. Their hair is black and thick, but not very long; it
is worn tied back upon the head in the form of a little tail.[379] In
person they are of good proportion, of middle-stature, a little above our
own, broad across the breast, strong in the arms, and well-formed in the
legs and other parts of the body; the only exception to their good looks
is that they have broad faces, but not all of them, for we saw many who
had sharp ones, with large black eyes and a fixed expression. They are
not very strong in body, but acute in mind, active and swift of foot as
far as we could perceive by observation. They greatly resemble in these
two last particulars the people of the East, especially those of the
remote regions. We were not able to learn much concerning their habits on
account of our short stay on land and the distance of our ship from the
shore.”
Verrazzano designated his first landing-place on the coast of the New
Land by calling it Diepa, the Italian form of the French name Dieppe,
that of the port from which he had sailed to make discoveries in the
western hemisphere. Visconte de Maiollo, on his map of the world made in
1527, places the name Diepa on the coast of Francesca, a little north of
Terra Florida.[380]
Describing his next place of anchorage, Verrazzano says: “We found
not far from this people another, whose mode of life we judged to be
similar to that of the former. The whole shore is covered with fine
sand about fifteen feet deep, rising in the form of little hills about
fifty paces broad. Ascending farther, we found several arms of the sea
which, entering through inlets, washed the shore on each side as the
coast trends. An extensive country appears, rising somewhat above the
level of the sandy beach in beautiful fields and broad plains, covered
with immense forests, more or less dense, the foliage of the trees being
of various colors, too attractive and charming to be described. I do not
believe that these are like the Hercynian forest, or the rough solitudes
of Scythia, or the northern regions full of vines and trees, but growing
with palms,[381] laurels, cypresses, and other varieties of trees unknown
in Europe, which exhale a very sweet fragrance a great distance. We
could not examine them closely for the reasons already mentioned, and
not on account of any difficulty in traversing the woods, which, on the
contrary, are easily penetrated.
“As the Orient stretches around to this country,[382] I do not think
that it is devoid of the same kind of drugs and aromatic liquors, nor
of other resources as gold and the like, which the color of the earth
indicated.[383] The country abounds with many animals as deer, stags,
hares, and the like. It is plentifully supplied with lakes and ponds of
running water, and with a great variety of birds, fit and useful for
every kind of pleasant and delightful sport. This land lies in 34°. The
air is salubrious, pure, and of a temperature neither hot nor cold. There
are no impetuous winds in these regions, the most prevalent being the
northwest and west.
“When we were there in summer-time the sky was clear with little rain,
and if fogs and mists were at any time driven in by the south wind, they
quickly disappeared, and the sky became again serene and bright. The sea
is tranquil and not stormy. Although the whole coast is low and without
harbors, it is not dangerous to navigate, being free from rocks and bold,
so that within four or five fathoms from the shore there are twenty-four
feet of water at all times of tide, and this depth uniformly increases
as you go farther into the sea. The holding ground is so good that no
ship can part her cable, however strong the wind may be, as we proved by
experience, for while riding at anchor on the coast we were overtaken by
a gale in the beginning of March, when the winds are high, as is usual in
all countries, and we found our anchor broken before it started from its
place or moved at all.”
“March being the season in our southern climate, when vegetation of all
kinds is putting forth,” says an American writer, residing in South
Carolina, “the woods presented to the stranger a greater variety of
charms than he had ever beheld. The trees, green and beautiful with the
living verdure of our early spring, were bending down with rich clusters
of golden jessamine, which spread their rich perfume over the whole air,
while the underbrush embraced a collection of aromatic shrubs and wild
flowers, which might easily be mistaken for the rich spices of oriental
production.”[384]
After inspecting the sandy, harborless shore of Onslow Bay, Verrazzano
sailed eastwardly in order to double Cape Lookout, in 34° 37´ north
latitude. “We set sail from this place,” he says, “continuing to coast
along the shore, which we found turned to the west, [east in the
direction in which he was sailing]. The inhabitants were numerous, for
we saw every-where many fires.[385] While at anchor on this coast, there
being no harbor to enter, we sent the boat to the shore with twenty-five
men to obtain water, but it was impossible to land without endangering
the boat, on account of the very high surf thrown upon the shore by the
sea, as it was an open roadstead.[386] Many natives came to the beach,
and signified by various friendly signs that we might trust ourselves on
land. One of their noble deeds of friendship deserves to be made known to
your majesty. A young sailor was attempting to swim ashore through the
surf to carry them some knick-knacks, as little bells, looking-glasses,
and similar trifles, when after approaching near to three or four natives
and casting them the things and turning about to get back to the boat, he
was overturned by the waves and so dashed by them upon the beach that he
lay there as if he were dead. When the people saw him in this condition
they ran and took him up by the head, legs, and arms, and carried him
some distance from the surf. The young man, finding himself borne off
in this way, uttered very loud shrieks in fear and dismay, while they
answered as best they could in their language, intimating that he had
no cause for fear. Afterward they laid him down at the foot of a little
hill, where they took off his shirt and trousers, and examined him,
expressing the greatest astonishment at the whiteness of his skin. Our
sailors in the boat seeing a great fire kindled and their companion
placed very near it, full of fear, as is usual in all cases of a novel
character, imagined that the natives were about to roast him for food.
But as soon as he had recovered his strength, after a short stay with
them, and had shown by signs that he wished to return to the boat, they
affectionately hugged him and accompanied him to the beach, where leaving
him, they withdrew to a little hill, that he might feel more free, and
watched him until he was safe in the boat. This young man reported that
these people were black as the others, that they had shining skin,
middle-stature, but sharper faces and very delicate bodies and limbs, and
that they were inferior in strength but quicker in thought. This is all
he observed.”
After this adventure, which likely occurred somewhere on the coast near
the thirty-sixth parallel, perhaps in the vicinity of Roanoke Island,
North Carolina, Verrazzano steered northwardly, and while sailing at
night passed by the entrance to Chesapeake Bay and anchored off the coast
of Virginia, some distance north of Cape Charles, which is in 37° 3´.
“Departing from this place [the coast of North Carolina], and always
following the coast which trended toward the north, we came,” says
Verrazzano, “in the space of fifty leagues to another land, which
appeared very beautiful and full of large forests. We approached it
and going ashore with twenty men, went back from the coast about two
leagues, and found that the people had fled and hid themselves in the
woods in fear. By searching around we discovered in the grass a very old
woman with a young girl of about eighteen or twenty years of age, who
had concealed themselves for the same reason. The old woman carried two
infants on her shoulders, and behind her neck a little boy about eight
years old. When we came upon them they began to shriek and make signs to
the men who had fled to the woods. We gave them a part of our provisions,
which they accepted with delight, but the girl would not touch any,
every thing we offered to her being thrown down in great anger. We took
the little boy from the old woman to carry him with us to France, and
would have taken the girl also, who was very beautiful and very tall,
but it was impossible on account of the piercing shrieks she uttered,
when we attempted to lead her away. Having to pass some woods, and being
far from the ship, we determined to leave her and only take the boy.
We found these people fairer (_più bianchi_) than those we had passed.
From certain grasses hanging from the branches of trees, they make their
clothing; the grasses being woven together with threads of wild hemp.
Their heads were uncovered and of the same shape as the other natives we
had seen. Their food is a kind of pulse which abounds there, different in
color and in size from ours, and of a very pleasant taste. Besides they
use birds and fish for food, which they take with snares, and bows made
of hard wood. Their arrows are reeds, in the ends of which they fasten
the bones of fish and of animals. The animals in these regions are wilder
than those in Europe by being more frequently molested by those hunting
them. We saw many of their boats constructed of a single tree, twenty
feet long and four feet wide, fabricated without the use of stone or iron
or other metal. Along the whole coast which we explored for the space
of two hundred leagues, we saw no stone of any sort. To hollow out the
log they burn as much of it as will form the concave part of the boat,
and also form the ends which are to be the prow and stern, to make the
boat float well. The land in situation, fertility, and beauty is like the
other, covered with forests, filled with different kinds of trees but not
such fragrant ones, since the region is farther north and colder.”
While exploring the peninsula of Virginia, the warm-hearted and
sympathetic Florentine was pleasingly reminded of his own delightful
country by seeing many wild grape-vines festooning the tall forest trees.
He observed that the savages carefully removed the shading shrubbery near
the prolific vines, so that the ripening rays of the sun could fall on
the green fruit.
“We saw in this country,” he says, “many vines growing naturally,
entwining themselves about the trees, climbing as they do in Cisalpine
Gaul, which, if they were dressed in the right way of cultivation by
husbandmen, they would produce without doubt the best of wines, because
often the fruit of that drinking is agreeable and sweet, seeing it is
not different from our own, (_perche più volte il frutto di quello
beendo, veggendo suave e dolce non dal nostro differente_). The vines are
held in high estimation by the inhabitants, for they take away all the
surrounding concealing shrubbery to enable the fruit to grow.[387]
“We also found,” Verrazzano further relates, “wild roses, violets,
lilies, and many kinds of plants and fragrant flowers differing from our
own. We cannot describe the habitations of the people as the structures
were in the interior, but from various indications we concluded they
were formed of trees and shrubs. There were also many signs which led us
to suppose that the inhabitants often sleep in the open air without any
covering but the sky. We are ignorant of their other habits. We believe,
however, that all the people we were among live in the same way.”
When Verrazzano was on land with the twenty men, he crossed the narrow
peninsula of Virginia and beheld the wide expanse of Chesapeake Bay.[388]
This great body of water, stretching toward the north and south as far
as he could see, and spreading westward to an unknown distance, led
the surprised explorer to imagine that it was a part of the Indian
Ocean, (_Mare Indicum_), by which, if there were a navigable entrance
to it, he might sail to Cathay.[389] Ignorant of the fact that he had
already passed at night the channel leading to this expanse of water,
Verrazzano entertained the thought that he might discover one along the
coast farther northward. Although he determined not to sail again at
night along the New Land, and resolved to inspect its coast more closely
thereafter, he failed to find a passage to the assumed western sea, when
he sailed northward. After returning to France, he made a map on which
he represented this sea separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow
neck of land, similar in outline and situation to the northern part of
the peninsula of Virginia. This is corroborated by Hakluyt, the English
collector, who says: “Master John Verazanus, which had been thrise on
that coast, in an olde excellent mappe which he gave to King Henrie
the eight, and is yet in the custodie of Master Locke, doth so lay it
out.”[390]
[Illustration: FIELD OF VOYAGES TO AMERICA.
ON MERCATOR’S PROJECTION.]
Verrazzano’s brother, Hieronymus, also made a map of New France, on which
he placed this explanatory inscription respecting this part of the coast,
which he also delineates as a narrow tract of land: “From this eastern
sea [the Atlantic] one beholds the western sea; there are six miles of
land between them.”[391] The Sea of Verrazzano (_Mare de Verrazana_),
represented on the fan-shaped map made by Michael Locke, in 1582, was, as
Hakluyt affirms, “according to Verazanus plat,” which “laieth out the sea
makinge a little necke of land in 40 degrees of latitude much like the
streyte necke or istmus of Dariena.”[392]
Sailing northwardly from the peninsula of Virginia, Verrazzano proceeded
leisurely along the coast searching for an entrance to the so-called
western sea. Although he does not speak of entering Delaware Bay,
there is no testimony to contradict the assertion that he explored it.
Describing his voyage along the coasts of the present states of Maryland,
Delaware, and New Jersey, Verrazzano writes: “After having remained here
three days, riding at anchor off the coast [of Virginia], for we could
not find a harbor, we determined to depart, sailing always along the
shore, which trended to the northeast, only navigating in day-time and
coming to anchor at night.”
About the last of April, 1524, the Dauphine arrived off the low point of
land, now called Sandy Hook, designated on Maiollo’s map of 1527 as C.
de S. Maria (Cape of St. Mary).[393] Seeing the convenient haven north
of it, Verrazzano changed the vessel’s course and slowly sailed into the
spacious roadstead. Having found a suitable riding-place, the French
barque cast her anchor in the sight of a multitude of interested natives,
who from the neighboring hills witnessed the first mooring of a European
ship in the tranquil waters of the large bay.
The ship’s boat being manned, Verrazzano began to explore the mouth of
the great river, as he designated the channel now called the Narrows.
Eager to know the destination of the strange explorers, the curious
natives thronged the shores of Staten and Long islands as Verrazzano and
his men passed up the Narrows in mid-stream toward the upper bay, which
the enthusiastic Italian denominated a very beautiful lake. Entering the
commodious bay, Verrazzano hastily surveyed its islands and inlets, the
mouth of the noble river flowing into it, and the distant highlands dimly
defined along the northern horizon. Describing his short exploration of
the upper bay of New York, Verrazzano writes:
“At the end of one hundred leagues we discovered a very delightful place
among some small hills, eminences, between which ran a very great river
(_una grandissima riviera_) to the ocean, which was deep within to the
mouth, and from the sea to the enlargement of the bay the rise of the
tide was eight feet, and through it any heavy ship can pass.[394]
“As in good duty we did not wish to run the risk of penetrating the coast
without knowledge of the mouth of the river, we took the boat and entered
the river within the country where we found it to be thickly inhabited
and the people resembling the others we had seen, adorned with birds’
feathers of different colors, coming toward us with evident delight,
uttering very loud cries of admiration, indicating, if we had to land
with the boat, where it was most safe. We entered the said river within
the country about half a league, where we saw it formed a most beautiful
lake (_un bellissimo lago_), about three leagues in compass, upon which
we saw boats, thirty in number, moving from one part to another with
innumerable people, who passed from shore to shore to see us.[395]
Very suddenly, as is wont to happen to those navigating, an impetuous
contrary wind blew in from the sea, compelling us to return to the ship.
We departed from this region with much displeasure on account of its
extent and attractiveness, for we believed that it was not without some
resources of wealth as all the hills indicated the existence of minerals
in them.”
As a geographical designation for the very great river (_una grandissima
riviera_), the name Grande (Great) River was used by some of the most
celebrated map-makers of Europe, during the sixteenth century. In the
seventeenth century, when the Dutch took possession of this part of New
France, the Dutch synonym, “Groote,” was substituted for the Italian
designation. The Spaniards, who explored the coast of North America after
Verrazzano had inspected it, gave different names to the river.
Henry Hudson was induced to explore the Grande River by Captain John
Smith, who believed that the English navigator could find a strait
connecting it with the western sea (Mare Indicum) delineated on
Verrazzano’s map. In the summer of 1609, when Hudson attempted to sail to
Asia by a passage north of Novaya Zemlya, and was compelled to abandon
the project on account of the barrier of ice surrounding the island, it
is said he placed before the officers and crew of the Half Moon (Halve
Maen), the choice of one of two proposals. Respecting the proposals of
which they had the consideration, the Dutch historian, Van Meteren, thus
speaks: “Master Hudson gave them their choice of two things, the first
was to go to the coast of America, at the fortieth degree of latitude,
mostly incited to this by letters and maps which a certain Captain Smith
had sent him from Virginia, and on which he showed him a sea by which he
might circumnavigate their southern colony [Virginia] from the north, and
from there pass into a western sea. The other proposal was to seek the
passage by Davis’s Strait.”[396]
Hudson, besides knowing the situation of the noble stream, was also
informed that it was called the Great (Grande) River. Robert Juet, the
journalist of the voyage of 1609, recording the incidents of the last
day’s exploration of the river, writes: “Within a while after, we came
out also of the great mouth of _the great Riuer_.”[397]
De Laet, the Dutch historian, writing in 1625, mentions the fact that the
Dutch used the name “Great” for the river in preference to all the other
appellations designating it: “The great north river of New Netherland
was called by some the Manhattes river, from the people who dwell near
its mouth; by others, Rio de Montaignes (River of the Mountains), but by
our countrymen it was mostly called ‘_de groote rieviere_’ (the Great
river).”[398] As early as the year 1624, the name “Hudson’s River” was
inscribed on maps to designate the stream discovered by Verrazzano.[399]
Sailing from the mouth of the Grande River, between the Cape of Saint
Mary (C. de S. Maria) and the point of land denominated Anguileme[400]
on Maiollo’s map of 1527, Verrazzano coasted along the south side of
Long Island for fifty leagues, at the end of which he passed the eastern
extremity of the island, now called Montauk Point. While seeking, during
a storm, a port of refuge eastward of Long Island, Verrazzano discovered
the island now called Block Island, which he describes as triangular
in form, and in size about equal to the island of Rhodes.[401] Block
Island lies southwest of Narragansett Bay, and is about eight miles long
and about five miles broad at its widest part. Verrazzano called it
Luisa, the name of the mother of King Francis I., Louise, the daughter
of Philippe, duke of Savoy. The orthography of the Italian name, as
presented by Visconte de Maiollo on his map of the world of 1527, was
soon corrupted by map-makers, and on a number of charts of the sixteenth
century it is inscribed “Brisa” and “Briso.” The names “Claude” and
“Claudia” appear on some maps as designations for it, used most likely,
in honor of Claude, the wife of Francis I., the first being the French
orthography of the appellation, and the latter the Italian.
The departure of the Dauphine from the mouth of the Grande River,
Verrazzano thus describes: “Weighing anchor, we sailed fifty leagues
toward the east, as the coast trended in that direction, and always
in sight of it. At the end of the course we discovered an island of a
triangular form about ten leagues from the main-land, in size about equal
to the island of Rhodes, having many hills covered with trees, and well
peopled, judging from the great number of fires we saw all around it. We
gave it the name of your majesty’s illustrious mother. We did not land on
it, as the weather was unfavorable.”
Sailing northeasterly from Block Island, the Italian explorer beheld the
coast of the main-land, and anchored the Dauphine in Narragansett Bay,
Rhode Island. Speaking of the discovery of the commodious bay, designated
on Maiollo’s map by the Italian name, “Refugio,” Verrazzano says:
“We proceeded to another place fifteen leagues distant from the island,
where we found a very excellent harbor. Before entering it we saw about
twenty small boats filled with people, who came to the ship with various
cries and wonderment. But they would not approach nearer than fifty
paces. Stopping, they looked at the structure of the ship, our persons,
and dress. Afterward they all cried out loudly together, signifying that
they were delighted. By imitating their signs we inspired them with a
measure of confidence, so that they came near enough for us to toss them
some little bells and glasses and many toys, which they took and looked
at laughing, and then came on board without fear. Among them were two
kings more attractive in form and stature than can be described. One was
about forty years old, the other about twenty-four, and they were dressed
in the following fashion.
“The elder king had the skin of a deer wrapped around his nude body,
artificially made with various embroideries to decorate it. His head was
bare. His hair was bound behind with various bands, and around his neck
he wore a large chain ornamented with many stones of different colors.
The younger king was like him in appearance. This was the finest-looking
people and the handsomest in their costumes that we found in our voyage.
They exceed us in size, and are of a very fair complexion (_sono di
colore bianchissimo_); some of them incline more to a white, and others
to a tawny color. Their faces are sharp; their hair is long and black,
on the adornment of which they bestow great care. Their eyes are black
and keen; their demeanor is gentle and attractive, very much like that
of the ancients. I say nothing to your majesty of the other parts of the
body that are all in good proportion as belong to well-formed men.
“The women resemble them in size, and are very graceful and handsome, and
quite attractive in dress and manners. They had no other clothing except
a deer-skin, ornamented as were the skins worn by the men. Some had very
rich lynx-skins upon their arms, and wore various ornaments upon their
heads, braided in their hair, which hung down upon their breasts. Others
wore different ornaments, such as those of the women of Egypt and Syria.
The older and the married people, both men and women, wore many ornaments
in their ears, hanging down in Oriental fashion.
“We saw on them pieces of wrought copper, which is more esteemed by them
than gold, the latter being deemed the most ordinary of metals, yellow
being a color much disliked by them. Blue and red are the colors which
they value most highly. Of the things which we gave them, they preferred
the bells, azure crystals, and other toys, which they hung in their
ears and about their necks. They do not value or desire to have silk or
gold-drapery, or other kinds of cloth, nor implements of steel or iron.
When we showed them our weapons, they expressed no admiration, and only
asked how they were made. The same indifference was manifested when they
were given the looking-glasses, which they with smiles returned to us
as soon as they had looked at them. They are very generous, giving away
whatever they have.
“We formed a great friendship with them, and one day we entered into
port with our ship, having before rode at the distance of a league from
the shore, as the weather was unfavorable. They came to the ship with a
number of their little boats, with their faces painted with different
colors, manifesting real signs of joy, bringing us of their provisions,
and signifying to us where we could best ride in safety with our ship,
and keeping with us until we had cast anchor.
“We remained among them fifteen days to provide ourselves with many
things of which we were in want, during which time they came every day
to see our ship, bringing with them their wives, of whom they were very
careful, for, although they came on board themselves, and remained a
long while, they made their wives stay in the boats, nor could we ever
get them on board by any solicitations or any presents we could make
them. One of the two kings, however, often came with his queen and many
attendants to see us for his amusement. But he always stopped on land
at the distance of about two hundred paces from us, and sent a boat to
announce his intended visit, saying they would come and see our ship.
This was done for safety, and as soon as they had received our answer,
they came and remained some time to look around. On hearing the annoying
cries of the sailors, the king sent the queen, with her attendants, in a
very light boat to wait, near an island, a quarter of a league distant,
while he remained a long time on board, talking with us by signs, and
expressing his fanciful notions about every thing in the ship, and
asking the use of all. After imitating our modes of salutation, and
tasting our food, he courteously took leave of us. Once, when our men
remained two or three days on a small island near the ship for their
various necessities, as sailors are wont to do, he came with seven or
eight of his attendants to inquire about our movements, often asking us
if we intended to remain there long, and offering us every thing at his
command. Sometimes he would shoot with his bow, and run up and down with
his people, making great sport for us. We often went five or six leagues
into the interior, and found the country as pleasant as can be conceived,
adapted to cultivation of every kind, whether of corn, wine, or oil.
There are open plains twenty-five and thirty leagues in length, entirely
free from trees or other obstructions, and so fertile that whatever
is sown there will yield an excellent crop. On entering the woods, we
observed that they might all be traversed by any large army. The trees in
them were oaks, cypresses, and others unknown in Europe. We found, also,
apples, plums, filberts, and many other fruits, but of a different kind
from ours. The animals, which are in great numbers, stags, deer, lynx,
and many other kinds, are taken with snares and by bows; the latter is
the principal weapon of the natives. Their arrows are beautifully made.
For points they use emery, jasper, hard marble, and other sharp stones
instead of iron. They also use the same kind of sharp stones in cutting
down trees, and with them construct their boats of single logs, hollowed
out with admirable skill, and sufficiently commodious to seat ten or
twelve persons. Their oars are short, with broad blades, and are rowed by
the force of the arms, with the greatest care and as rapidly as they wish.
“We saw their dwellings, which are circular in form, about ten or
twelve paces in circumference, made of logs split in half, without any
regularity of architecture, and covered with roofs of straw, nicely put
on, which protect them from wind and rain. There is no doubt that they
would build stately edifices if they had workmen as skillful as ours, for
the whole sea-coast abounds with shining stones, crystals, and alabaster,
and on this account it has dens and retreats for animals. They change
their habitations from place to place, as circumstances of situation and
season may require. This is easily done, for they have only to take with
them their mats, and they have other houses immediately prepared.
“The father and the whole family dwell together in one house. In some of
their houses we saw twenty-five or thirty persons. Their food is pulse,
as that of the other people, which is here better than elsewhere, and
more carefully cultivated. In the time of sowing they are governed by
the moon, which they think effects the sprouting of the grain. They have
many other ancient customs. They live by hunting and fishing, and they
are long lived. If they fall sick ...[402] they cure themselves without
medicine, with the heat of fire. Death comes to them at last from extreme
old age. We judged them to be very affectionate and charitable toward
their relatives, for they make loud lamentations in their adversity, and
in their misery call to remembrance all their good deeds. When they die
their relations mutually join in weeping mingled with singing for a long
while. This is all that we could learn of them.
“This region is situated on the parallel of Rome, in 41⅔ degrees, as I
shall narrate hereafter to your serene majesty.[403] At present I shall
describe the situation of this place. At its south end the channel is
narrow and a half league wide. It extends, between east [south?], and
north, twelve leagues. Then it enlarges and forms a very spacious bay
twenty leagues in circuit, in which are five small islands, very fertile
and attractive, and covered with high trees. The bay is so spacious that
between these islands any number of vessels might ride at ease without
fear of tempests and other dangers. At the entrance of the bay, farther
south, there are very attractive hills on both sides of the channel, and
many streams of clear water flow from the eminences into the sea. In the
middle of the mouth there is a rock of freestone (_uno scoglio di viva
pietra_), formed by nature and suitable for the construction of any kind
of machine or bulwark for the defence of the haven.”
Verrazzano’s description of Narragansett Bay, named Port du Refuge on
Gastaldi’s map of 1553,[404] is so accurate that without any other
information it would be easy to determine the situation of the place
where for fifteen days, ending the sixth of May (_old style_), he and
his crew held familiar intercourse with the friendly Indians inhabiting
the islands and the main-land in the vicinity of the anchorage of
the Dauphine. The latitude of the bay given by Verrazzano cannot be
gainsaid.[405]
Departing, on the sixth of May, from Port du Refuge, the Dauphine sailed
on a southeasterly course to pass the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and
Nantucket. Having steered fifty leagues in this direction, Verrazzano
found the coast to trend toward the north, which he followed until
he again cast anchor off the coast of Maine, a little north of the
forty-third parallel.
The wary aborigines of this part of the New Land would not venture near
the Dauphine, nor could they be induced to part with their commodities
until they were remunerated with such things as were most useful to them.
The landing of twenty-five men from the vessel provoked an attack, and
yet after this show of hostility the Indians fled to the woods.
Speaking of his departure from Narragansett Bay, Verrazzano writes:
“Having supplied ourselves with every thing necessary, on the sixth of
May [_old style_], we departed from the port, and sailed one hundred and
fifty leagues, keeping close enough to the coast not to lose it from our
sight. The character of the country appeared much the same as before,
but the mountains were a little higher, and in all appearance rich in
minerals.
“We did not stop to land, as the weather was very favorable for pursuing
our voyage, and the country presented no variety. The shore stretched to
the east, and fifty leagues beyond more to the north, where we found a
more elevated country, full of very dense woods of pine, cypress, and the
like, indicative of a cold climate.
“The people were entirely different from the others we had seen, whom
we had found kind and gentle, but these were so rude and barbarous that
we were unable, by any signs we could make, to hold any communication
with them. They clothe themselves with the skins of bears, wolves, lynx,
marine, and other animals. Their food, which we inferred from several
visits to their dwellings, is obtained by hunting and fishing. They have
certain vegetables which are roots of spontaneous growth. They have no
pulse, and we saw no signs of its cultivation. The land appears sterile
and unfit for the growth of fruits or grain of any kind. If we wished
at any time to traffic with them, they came to the sea-shore and stood
upon the rocks, from which they lowered down by a cord to our boats
beneath whatever they had to barter, continually crying out to us not to
come nearer, and instantly demanding from us that which was to be given
in exchange. They took from us only knives, fish-hooks, and sharpened
steel. No regard was paid to our courtesies. When we had nothing left to
exchange with them, the men at our departure made the most brutal signs
of disdain and contempt possible. Against their will, we penetrated two
or three leagues into the interior with twenty-five men. When we came to
the shore, they shot at us with their arrows, uttering the most horrible
cries, and afterward fleeing to the woods. In this region we found
nothing extraordinary except vast forests, and some metalliferous hills
as we inferred, for we saw that many of the people wore copper ear-rings.”
Following the trend of the coast of Maine, Verrazzano found along this
part of his course for the space of fifty leagues, numerous islands,
thirty-two of which, near the main-land, were high and attractive. Among
them he saw many excellent roadsteads and navigable channels.
Describing his exploration along the coast of Maine, Verrazzano remarks:
“Departing from this place [perhaps in the vicinity of Cape Neddock],
we kept along the coast steering to the northeast, and found the country
more pleasant and open, free from woods, and far in the interior we saw
lofty mountains, but none which extended to the shore.
“Within fifty leagues we discovered thirty-two small and attractive
islands, all near the main-land. They were so high and so disposed as to
afford as fine harbors and channels as those that are in the Adriatic
Gulf, near Illyria and Dalmatia. We had no intercourse with the people,
but we judge that they were similar in disposition and habits to those we
were last among.
“After sailing between east and north the distance of one hundred and
fifty more leagues, and finding our provisions and naval stores nearly
exhausted, we took in wood and water, and determined to return to France,
having discovered five hundred and two, that is to say, seven hundred
leagues of new land (_avendo discoperto leghe 502 cioe leghe 700 più di
nuova terra_).”
The distance of seven hundred leagues Verrazzano reckoned in the
following way, as explained by him in his geographical exposition of the
voyage: “In addition to the 92 degrees we ran toward the west from our
point of departure before we reached land on the thirty-fourth parallel,
we have to count 300 [French] leagues, which we ran northeastwardly and
400 nearly east along the coast before we reached the fiftieth parallel
of north latitude.” Measured directly north from the thirty-fourth
parallel to the fiftieth, the space includes sixteen degrees, which
multiplied by 31¼ French leagues, which at that time equaled a degree
of latitude, the product of 500 French leagues is obtained.[406] Two
leagues added to these, for the distance sailed directly south of the
thirty-fourth parallel, make 502 French leagues, or about eleven hundred
and four land-miles, the geographical extent of the coast explored by
Verrazzano.[407] The New Land (_Nuova Terra_), discovered by Verrazzano,
was as early as the year 1527 delineated on a map of the world and
denominated Francesca. This Italian name it bore for a number of years
until the French geographical designation La Nouvelle France (New France)
was substituted for it.[408]
Concluding his description of the new country, Verrazzano remarks: “As
to the religious faith of all these tribes, not understanding their
language, we could not learn either by signs or gestures any thing
certain. It seemed to us that they had no religion or laws, nor any
knowledge of a First Cause or Mover,—that they worshipped neither the
heavens, stars, sun, moon, nor the other planets. We could not learn if
they were given to any kind of idolatry, or offered any sacrifices or
supplications, or if they have temples or houses of prayer in their
villages. Our conclusion was that they had no religion, but lived without
any. This seems to be the result of ignorance, for they are very easily
persuaded, and imitated us with earnestness and fervor in all that they
saw us do as Christians in our acts of devotion.”
Verrazzano added to this general description of his remarkable
discoveries, an elaborate cosmographical explanation of the situation of
the New Land. His geometrical elucidation of the distances sailed by the
Dauphine, shows how desirous he was to make plain the geography of the
vast continent, which he and others had partly explored. He says:
“It remains for me to place before your serene majesty a cosmographical
description of the voyage. As I have already said, we departed from
the desert-rocks, lying in the extreme part of the West known to the
ancients, and in the described meridian near the Fortunate Islands, on
the thirty-second parallel from the equator of our hemisphere, and sailed
from it westwardly to where we found the first land, 1,200 leagues or
4,800 miles, reckoning according to nautical custom four miles to a
[marine] league.[409] ... During our voyage we had no lunar eclipses or
similar celestial phenomena. We therefore determined our progress from
the difference of longitude, which we ascertained by various instruments,
taking the sun’s altitude from day to day, and by calculating
geometrically the distance run by the ship from one horizon to another.
All these observations, as also the ebb and flow of the tide in all
places, were noted down in a little book, which may prove serviceable
to navigators. They are communicated to your majesty with the hope of
promoting science.
“My intention in this voyage was to reach Cathay, on the extreme coast
of Asia, expecting, however, to find in the newly discovered land
some obstacle as I found, yet I did not doubt that I should sail by
some passage to the eastern ocean. It was the opinion of the ancients
that our eastern ocean of India was an expanse of water without any
intervening land. Aristotle supports it by arguments founded on
various probabilities, but it is contrary to later belief and false
by observation. The discovered country, of which the ancients knew
nothing, is another world compared with that which was before known,
being evidently larger than our Europe together with Africa, and,
perhaps, Asia, if one rightly estimate its extent, as shall now be
explained briefly to your majesty.”[410] He then speaks of the Spaniards
sailing as far south as the Strait of Magellan and as far north as the
twenty-first parallel without finding a termination to the continent....
“But to return to ourselves:—in the voyage which we have made by the
order of your majesty, in addition to the ninety-two degrees we ran
toward the west from the point of our departure before we reached land on
the thirty-fourth parallel, we have to count 300 leagues which we sailed
northeastwardly, and 400 nearly east along the coast before we reached
the fiftieth parallel of north latitude, the point where we turned our
course from the shore toward home. Beyond this point the Portuguese
had sailed as far north as the arctic circle without coming to the end
of the continent. Adding the degrees of south latitude explored, which
are fifty-four, to those of the north, which are sixty-six, the sum is
one hundred and twenty degrees, and therefore more than are included
in the latitude of Africa and Europe, for the north point of Norway,
the extremity of Europe, is in 71° north latitude, and the Cape of Good
Hope, the southern extremity of Africa, is in 35° south latitude, and
their sum is only one hundred and six degrees. If the breadth of this
newly discovered country correspond to the extent of its sea-coast, it
doubtless exceeds Asia in size. In this way we find that the land forms a
much larger part of our globe than the ancients supposed, who maintained,
contrary to mathematical reasoning, that it was less than the water,
whereas actual experience proves the reverse, so that judging in respect
to extent of surface, the land covers apparently as much space as the
water.[411]
“I hope to point out and explain more clearly and satisfactorily the
great extent of the New Land or New World, of which I have been speaking.
Asia and Africa, we know, are joined together and are connected with
Norway and Russia with Europe, which disproves the idea of the ancients
that all this northern part had been navigated from the promontory
of Cimbri [Denmark] eastward as far as the Caspian Sea. They also
maintained that the whole continent was surrounded by two oceans, lying
east and west of it, which seas in fact do not surround either of the
two continents, for as we have already seen the land in the western
hemisphere at 54° south latitude extends eastwardly an unknown distance,
and that the land north of the equator, beyond the sixty-sixth parallel,
turns to the east and does not terminate at the seventieth parallel.[412]
“In a short time, I hope we shall have more satisfactory information
concerning these things by the aid of your serene majesty, whom I pray
Almighty God to prosper in lasting glory, that we may see the most
important results of this our geography in the fulfillment of the holy
words of the gospel.
“On board the ship Dauphine, in the port of Dieppe, in Normandy, the 8th
day of July, 1524.
“Your humble servant,
“Janus Verazzanus.”