88

Lopez deGomeraVAccount.

Naval Expeditions , &c. of the English,

Book I*

" he was forced to turn his Sails, andfollow the LVest, coasting still in such" Manner, by the Shoar, that he was" thereby brought so far into the South ," by Reason or the Land bending so" much Southwards, that it was therealmost equal in Latitude, with the" Sea called Fretum Ilerculeum, having" the North-Pole elevated almost in the" fame Degree. He failed, likewise," in this Tract, so far towards the West," that he had the Island of Cuba on his" left Hand, almost in the fame Degreeof Longitude. As he failed by the" Coasts of this great Land (which he" named Baccaiaos ) he fays, that he" found the like Course of the Waters" towards the IVest j But that it run" more gently, than the swift Waters,« f which the Spaniards found in their« Navigations Southward. Wherefore," it is not only more like to be true," but ought also of Necessity to be con-eluded, that between both the .Lands," hitherto unknown, there ssiould be" Passages, thro' which the Waters" ssiould thus continually flow from the" Eaji , unto the IVest, which Waters" I suppose to be driven about the" Globe of the Earth by the incessant" Motion, and Impulse of the Heavens,Cabot called these Lands Baccaiaos,< c because there was, in those Seas, so" great a Quantity of Fissi, which theInhabitants called by this Name, that‘ r they sometimes stopp’d his Ships.

The Testimony of Francis Lopez deGomera, a Spaniard, B. II. Ch. 4. ofhis General History of the IVest- In-dies.

" The most certain Account we" have of the Country and People of" Baccaiaos was brought by Sebastian" Cabot, a Venetian, who fitted out two" Ships, at the Cost of King HenryV II." of England, with the Intent of traf-sicking for Spices, as the Portuguesedid. He carried with him three“■ Hundred Men, and took the Way" towards the Islands, from beyond" t } ie Cape of Labrador, till he was be-" yond fifty-eight Degrees. He relat-ed, that in the Month of July, it was" so cold, and the Ice so great, that he" durst not pass any farther: That the" Days were very long, almost with-« out any .Night, and that for the short" Night they had it was very clear.

" Cabot,feeling the Cold,turned towards“ the West, refressiing himself at Bac-" calaos, and afterwards sailed along« the Coast unto thirty-eight Degrees;

" from whence he ssiaped his Course to" return t o England.

A Note of Sebastian Cabofs first Dis-covery of Part of the Indies, taken outof Robert Fabian's, Chronicle.

" In the thirteenth Year of the Reign An Acc" of King Henry VI!. that King,

" the Instance of John Cabot, a Veneti- Q}^ 0 nuU-" an, who was very expert in the" Knowledge of the Globe, caused a" Ship to be mann’d and victual’d at" Bristol, at his own Cost, to search" for an Island, which he said he knew" was rich, and aflordedPlenty of Mer-" chandize. With this Ship, thus" manned and victual’d, at the King’s" Cost, several Merchants of London" ventured Imall Stocks, under the" Care of the said Venetian. And in" the Company of that Ship went" three or four more Ships out of Bris“ tol, freighted with slight Merchan-" dizes, such as course Cloth, Caps,

" Laces, Points, and other Trifles, and" they departed in the Beginning of" May.”

I Shall conclude these Testimoniesof the first Discoveries made by Johnand Sebastian Cabot, with that of Mr.

John Smith, Author of the General His-tory of Virginia.

"Wr find (fays he, speaking of the Capt ffin" first Discoveries of the Weif-Indies ) J- Smith" that Columbus offered his Service in Account-" the Year 1488. to King Henry VII.

" and by Accident undertook the Dis-" coveryof unknown Lands, for the" Spaniards. In the Interim, Kino-" Henry gave a Commission to John" Cabot, and his three Sons, Sebastian,

“ Lewis and Santius. John and Sebaf-" tian, well provided, settingSail, rana-" ed a great Part of this unknown World,in the Year 1497. For tho’ Columbus" had found certain Isles, it was 1498.

" before he saw the Continent, (as Ihave said already) which was a Yearafter 'Cabot. So that, in Reality, the" Honour of this great Discovery is as" much, or more due to the Erg listNation,than to the Spanistj. VLmericus,from whom this whole Continent has" taken it’s Name, only swept awaythe Gleanings (if I may be allowed" Expression) of these two great" Discoverers; But Sebastian Cabot" went farther than all of them ; Forhe sailed to about forty Degrees" pstuthward of the Line, and to fixty-“ seven towards the North.”

As we find nothing more of John Ca-bot after this Time, I might now proceed

to