IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) f/ WJ. ■*». •v-*"- ^e^--" : \ ^4V^'A-r^-^^ ?>^ 5//„A''' J. ,0^"'^ (.O.MMrMCATKl) TO llll': SUCIKTV oF ANIh.HA I; 1 KS UICIIAKI) IIKXUY MA.) Oil, ESQ., F.S.A.. cV. LONDON : INTKD r.Y .1. li. NICHOLS v«; HOXS, 25, I'A UF,! AM i:\l siKF.r. 1870. riio.M TUE AKCIIiEOLOUIA, Vol. XI.III. pp. 17—42. { i. i / ENGLISH DISCOVPJIY or fi^ rilK AMEIUCAN CONTINKNT m JOJIN A\J) SEBASTIAN CABOT. To C. S. Pkuceval, Ksq., J)ir. Sac. Ant. My DEAIl PlCllCEVAL, \\\\iV\ there remain any in this utilitarian ag-e who value accuracy in history, tlie date of the discovery of the continent of Anun-ica by English vessels will not he regarded as unimportant. It is well known that Columhiis, whose great aelii(!veinent of li'J2 lias placed him on a pinnacle of renown whieli neithin- rivalry nor detraction can ever eclipse or undcn'mine, was himself preceded in the actual discovery of terra firma l)y John and Sebastian Cabot. It was not till 1 19S that that prince of navigators lighted on the north coast of South America, whereas it is a fact h(!yond all question that in 1197 John Cabot, aeccmipanied by his son Sebastian, was on the east coast of North America. The question is, whether in that year they discovered that coast for the first time, or Avhether in 1191. it had becm already seen by them, though j)Ossibly not explored. IJotli these su])i)ositions hav.. liad their advocates at different j)eriods, but in later years the materials for forming a sound judgment on the question have much increased under our hands, and I should not be occupying your time now if I Avere not of opinion that the entire collection of documents in our possession is sufficient to enable us to come to a decided conclusion. I'he belief that the first discovery wns made in 1191 is no novelty. As far back as the year 1591 a German named Kathaniel Kochhaf, but bi-tter known by the name of Chytrasus, published at Uerborn, in Nassau, a little Avork entitled Variorum in Eurupd Itincruiii DelieUe, in which he prints a large variety of legends which he met with in his travels. In the year 155G he saw at Oxford a map professing to be by Sebastian Cabot, containing nineteen inscriptions, whicli he transcribed and printed. Of these the two numbered respectively 8 and 17 7 />-'/■'/ ,.v,. .1. ,n...i,«.i '' ""i ■■'■ :"■■ ':';:■'■ '"^" v".':,;:;J!:.:li::;--"° ,. • ,. ,(;,„! 'I'lic USCl' DtlOll "IllUlll'lvd > IS .IS U)^^^^^^'■ .< I)r Trmi Snn> qnnn nihji's Jhu'c,ilU»< oprrlh^l. , , ,„..„„ .l.Tul. .)„!,:„,„.. (•.1...US Wn.lu-. n,v n„„ NIk.^Iuu,,.. ..;;::;;;/i;::::::r,:;::.:i::. -«.■', rr;;,,;;;:;i;::;:::::;:::: ::;:::;:;:::;:;s:t:u*^^^^^^^^^^ -"^- '- ,,,v,li,,.,|u,. ruilms l;4aml, DK.nisL u n> ,. • i . r.. Ii-iIIIl' lliov use :i bow i„,„„:,„„. „:■ ,„is l™.l «v *U" A- " ;- ,- '^ ^ ^,^^ „„,„ „„„ ., ,!m!i rclom-. iuul nvarirfy ..rotl.m- liinN. ,„^„ ,„,,,„„ „,. ,:.,.i,«.i,.io„,n,mV„,nT.«l,icl,*,..so,n- ,,uo..,o„, ,s »s -'--■ ^'''';-rt:r;:;::::::::;:;:-^:— >:-^ ,„„, (i.Wili'r, i«iv.gator«u ,lmrt» ni^l.n, »i"l .^^^1^.. ^^^^ _^ „a„i„a,i„„i,, i„t,.i!.-mi.ii «iii :;:;;::Li::::^;.ir:::»;:::;.;.!-r v''»-™;.;::"::::::;::™:':::;;: -Wtf On llic iliilc oj' llif Jlrnl. D/.tPorrri/ (ifllic Juiovinnii C^unl'moiil. y <',\lir|irli|ii'| il|ii'l'tis>illU' CDDstal, ili'TrctllS iSt V;iliilliiil|rs ili'US ll;illtii."l' CI'cIjIc] lli'li cillll A 1\ t i oliH'IIIMliollc." Wliii'li I ti'anslalclliiis, wiliiinit lioldiiiijuiysolf responsible foi' llic had coiisfriic- Uoii III' llic laiii;iiai;'<' :■— "Schastiaii Cahol. Capltiin and I'dot nl' Iiis Sacred Imperial ('Mlliolie Majesty till" Miupei'dr ('liaiics, lil'lli of tlial ikiiik; and \\\n lily of the eomjiass needle pointed due mn'tli at one (piartei- iiorth-nori li-east. i'or which re;is(jns, and hv the safest nautical evperience, it is most (dearly evident that defects and variations of the compass fre(piently occur with observa- tion of the North." Since the tiuu; of Chytrteus this theory of the dat(! of 1 1!) I has l)(>en pro- pounded at intervals by Harris, I'inkerton, Sir John JJarrow, and others, while there have not been wanting' those -who b(>lie\ed tha* the I'iu'htful date was 1 l',)7. Now it so ha])pens that o])posite ojiiuions on this subject have been i)ut forth so recently as ISO') by two friends of mine of high distinction in the Avorld of letters, and as it hapjiens in the self-same book, a book (jf which thi.'rc are pro- bably not half a dozen copies in England, but with one of which I have had the honour to be ])resonted. It is entitled, A Ilintor// of I lie J)iti<:oci'r[/ oJ'f//i' lu'.s/ Coast of North America, particidarlij the Coaxt of Maine, from the Nortlimen in 990 to the Charter of (Jitbert in loTS. By d. (i. Kohl, of JJremen. i'ortland, 1S09, 8vo. published by the Elaine Historical Society. It is a most admirable Avork, and I am proud to think that it Avas at my suggestion that the proposal Avas made to my learned friend to undertake so responsible and dillicult a task. In the chain of Kohl's labours the discoveries of the C'djols, of course, formed an imjiortant link, and bis critical acumen has struck out some very valuable ideas in furtherance of the argument that the first discovery of terra firma was in a 2 v5.£ •t 0>i the (laic of the J'n'sl DiMroren/ of I he Jiiiiuwiiii C'oiiliiieitL 1 l!(7, mid lint ill 1 11) t. uliicli [ mIimII prcsciillv lav l)('r()n' von. Ncvcrtliolrss, lie concliitli's liis coiniiH'iits with the Inllowiiii^' (M'litciK'c ■ I'roin tlicsc con sidcr.-it ions I repent llifil the V(iy;ii''e ol' 1 11)1, :iii(l the hie;ilitv ol' tlie ' priiiKi vista ' in ("iipe Hretnn, .ippe.ir to Jnc to he (htiihtl'iil, Ihouyli I ifill not jirclaiid lo Hficuli di-ci. sircli/ Oil Ihf .siihji'cl ." At the close ol' the volume is inserted as an appendix, // Lclh'r on Iho l\)\f(iijvH of .loliii iiinl Sfhiistiini i'liliol, \)\ M. d'A\e/,ae, of l';iris, in \vhi<-h, aCler the "•latenirnt ol' his reasons, tliat eminent sitrou/ tlins ennneiales his eonelnsions : '• / ii.s.f/nj/i' il llicii ii,s (I J'lirl lo hr lifrrnflcr iniroii/cslrtl, f^v / liarc ti/inii/s i-i'lliirdi'tl il iis iiivoiilcxliihlr, tlnil Iho Jlrxt disi'orcrii of Coljot ini.s wade l/ir 2'ilh ifl dime, 111)1." Now v\iien so distinct a declaralion is pnl i'oi'lh lt\ one who lias i-ivined loi' hinistdl' a worhl-\vi(h' repntation I'or learning'', industi'V, and ns''aeit,v, I Tear that J risU tho ciiar^'o of i^'i'eat, pi'csnniption in venliii'in^' to contest what my lionoiii'cil I'rieiid has prononn<'C([ to he incontestahle ; on the oilier hand, I run a similar risk of heini'' thoui^hl waiitiiiij,' in that modesty whicii ('istiiinnislies my I'l-iend .Mr. K(dil when he hesitates to rej(U't the py'niiii rishi oT 1 l!)l. altoi^other, hut sim])iy regards it as doidifl'ul. .Meanwhile Initli is ol' more im|iortanct; than even these consith'rations, and, if I can only succeed in eslahlisUini;' my ])oint, .Mr. Kcdil will not ohject to see the evidence witii wliicli he is Ml well aciiuaintcd jdaced in a new li-ht ; nor shall I liiid any where, as I well know from experienc'-, a more lari;v-minde(l and generous apprecialor ol' l!ie IriiMi than my honoured friend .M. d'A vezac, who, in his lon^' :uid distin- Uiiished li, has liimsell' served t lu; cause of truth loo ol'len to olijeel to its (lev( lopiiu'iU he it hv whom it may. .Now, since in this discussion the piece de vesislnnee is the ari^'umont on Avhich y\. d'.Vvc/ac bases his I'irm conviction that the date of the tirst sii-lit of the Last Coast of America by the Cabots was on St. John's Day, tho 211 h dune, MOt, I tliink it riylit to lay lieforc you his own statement in his own woi'ds, as rendered into Knylisii by the cdit(n' of the work [ have mentioned. For brevity's sake, I of cour.sc ([note only those portions of ^i. d'Avezac's letter wii -h hear (il recfly upon the point with wliicli I am dealini-'. lie says I come now to the malt(M' in hand. In some place, mor(> or less obscure, in the rcLiioii of (ionoa. if not in tli(> City of Palaces its(>lf (perhaps precisel\ in Casti<^'lion(>), toward the middle of the llfteenth century, as I sujipose, dolin Cahota, Caboto, or Caliot was born, avIio, early in 1 100 at the latest, went lo live at Venice ; married there a dauyhter of the country, by whom he had three sons ; ami there, after liftecn years of residence, and by liu u...i,ui;ious I ^" On ///I" iliilf of l/wju'st JMsvovrrii (l in a wcll-kuow ii leller writ ten iVnui I'lorniee, undi'i' uinsay, the uiaguilieent capital ol' ihe niiu'lity empire of Cat hay. At .'»()" this side of ('iitluiy lay tiie !;reat island ol' Zipanu'u or .lapan. At .'iO distance ri-oni liishiiii, I he i;reat island Antilhi, oi' llu- i-^land nl" Ihe 'Seven Cities,' was Ihrust I'orward. whicdi the nia])s of the time placid lieyoiul the Azoi'cs ; with some othci' islands in a location less lixed, anion!^' which the island of Hresil occMri'ed in dilU-rent plae -s. A direct way was thus holdly liviced hy the learnci! l'lorentin<' across tlu> A\'estern Ocean, even to that ripuleiit eniniti'y ol' the (irand Khau, wliose inconiparahle riches !i;id hci-n seen ajid rt'lated, two ceidui'ies hefore, hy ill" N'euelian i\'arco I'olo. The alteiil ion oi' Alon/o\. nas diverted hy cares nearer hoiuc, hy a war with strani;'e I'cverses, IVim these nieditalions ahout a maritinu' route to the Indies hy the W'sl. Ihit Cahot, who in his ti'jjvels in the KasI (l']i dice die altre volt" esso e slntn a la Meelia) had h'arned I'l'om the caravans of Arahia that the spices canie rnmi hand to hand from the remotest countries ol' tlu; I'last, cotdd not fail to revohe ill his lirain adventurous tliouL;hts ret>'ardini;' the distant horizon, where that extreme Orient was distinctly indicated, toward whi(di li(> saw ranned at due iiilervals, like siu;cessiv(; staliou-hoiiscs, the islands ol' Jhvsil, oi' Anfilia. and then Zipannn. '•The new citi/,en of X'eniee, takim;' his wife and sons with him, to uo into i'oreiyn ])art8 lo round an estahlishment ol' maritime commerce, in accordance with the cosmopolitan hahits of the N'eiielians. selected for this purposi? the l'^iiii,'lish port of Bristol, the channel of which oi)ens exatJtIy toward those western legions, where 1' >scauelli had i)oiiited out, in the distance, the i'oi'tunate siiovcs (3 On Ihc ihtl,' oj' ///'• Jlrsl l)i I'amily of {'al)i)t Iraiisrcrrcd its jicnalcs io tliis port in tho cxtrcnic west of lairopc; for ilic sccoiid sou, Scljastian, whom I suppose to have hecu horn in 1 1-72 or 1 17;>, was then only a cliild. •'-Hut ill Itsj), the iTith July, W(< so(> a shij) and its consort, of oig'hty tons i)iird('n. Ix^louijiiiiV 10 tlii> niorchaut .lay (ho yonni,^cr, and oouduct'Hl hy the most skilful iiiariiii'i' iu all ! Jiiilaud, sell inn' |',„.ti, jVom Bristol to j^'o west from tvoland toso(>kthi' inland of P.rcsil ; and, on the ISth of th(> Scpteinher following', the ui'ws roaches IV.iVidi. that, aft(a- a cruise of two months, the expculitiou had returned to a jmhI of Ireland with.out liaviui;' found tlie island soui;'lit. 'L'liis nucyi^ih'f iiKcis sci(^it(ijtc!in innriiHii-iiia Iciius Ainjl'ui', 1 ])ersua{hmiyself, is no other lhan .lolin (.'al)f)t himself. '■.Hut I'l'im a doid)t let us pass to a certainty. We have arrived now at the ycMr ] li)] ; and we know this lime, appositely, that there then commenced a series of consecutive explorations. wlii(di cmploy(>d, each year, two, tliree, lour cn!a\-els, ]iroee(Mliim' from the ]iort of Bristol lo sail luuhn' the direction of John t'ahot. the (ieiioe^(>, for the discovery of tlie isle of Bresil and of the Seven Cities: this is what the Spanish amhassador Pedro d'Ayala sends olUcially to his Oi,veniiiiei!i in a (!es])atcli of the l^.jth of .July, 1 IDS, on occasion of the departure of a L;reat expedition conluled to this Cienoese. ' Losde Bristol ha siete anuos (pie cada anno lian arinado dos, tres, cuatro caravelas ])ara ir a Imscar la isia del Jh'asil, y las Siete Ciuda(h's, eon la fantasia deste Cienoves.'' •• At last, (ju the fourth voya;;'e of this septennial series, in the month of .June, 1 1'.il, till' search is no longer in vain : in one of the legends accompanying the great clli[)tical Ma],j)c-JJ<>,i(l,\ puhlislied in 1511 hy Schastian Cahot, then grand ]iiiol of Spain, the following indisputahie declaration is inscrihed, hoth in Spanish and Latin, and is pointed out liy an express reference [in the body of the map], forwha{ relatiii of liristol liuvo Cor iIr. last seven yoars seal out .very voar twc, Ihr.v, <,r iuiir camve!. iu SL^aich of tlie Island of Brazil au.l the seven cities, uccor.ling tu the tauey of this GenoL'.se." I i 4 Oil tlic dull' dj' IIk; Jlrsl Jjiscurcjij nj'llic Aiiki 'can C(j)itiiu'iiL 7 " 'rhi> saiiic (lato, ll!)l, sucli as we asc(M't:uii it od tli(> very iua[) (.'I" Sohaslian < 'allot, |)i'('S(M"'tMl at hu'is in tlK> (<(H)^^'i'ai)liioa! ncparlincnl of tln' IVtbllotJicqiii' Impi'rhili', was cxtractotl in a siii)ilav inaiiiKH' in 15ri('», at Oxl'ord, in a tfaiiscripl Iiy Nathan Koohliai' (Cliytnens), and copied l)y llakluyt in luRO, al tlie I'alacc oT \\'estininst(~i', IVom anotlici- (nlilion cniiraved by ClonK'ntr Adams. A typo- ;;i'a[ihical oi'i'oi-, vatliei- tlian an ill-advised ai'hiti'ary correction, chanued that date, in this same citation, in a lat(>r edition ol' JEakluyt's collection. Tiiis would not 1)0 worth inenlio)iia!? it I were not oblii^'cd to iiive notice here, thai more than one careless readei" has inconsiderately, and without being' suHicienlly inl'onued. taken the dat(! thus corru[)tiHl lor that wliich ilaklnyt liad actually co])ied from thi> original, en yvaved by Adams. 2Sor can this date of IWi, which was really written, be invalidated, on the other haml. on the pretext iliai the legend did not emanate iVom. Sebastian Cabot himsei!'. I'rom whom tliei) did ii conie r its oriLiiu may. in my judgnnMit, assuredly be traced to .ioliii ('al)ot. who must he siijiposed to have inscribed it in Italian, and this explains how the diHereut \ersions which have been made of it into Latin, while they are id(>n(ical in substance, arc m)t precisely tiie sam(> in form. As for the Spanish rendering, ii is evid(-ntly posterior to tin,' establishment of S(d)astian Cabot in Spain. But of .vhat avail is all this? The legends belong incontestably to the chart ; for thosi' wiiicli, on account of thei'.- length, are iiol included within the interior of the design, arc plainly atraeh«' immediatidy all hesitation in tiiis regard, that he ■should r(vid the lirst lines of the ■• llctulo del An.rloi''', beginniin;' thus : ' Sebasiian (.'abolo capitan y piloto n.)ay(jr do la Sacra Cesarea Catolica ^[ajestad de! Imperador don Carlos duinto dcstc nombre y Key miestro seimor, hi/oesta liiiur,-! (>>:tensa ou piano, anno del na>cimi(>nlo de nuestro Salvador Jesu Christo d,- -M.D.XLTiri. annos,' " itc. '' I (i.ss/iiiif /'(, llicn. as a fad lo he hcrcaflcr >tncoiile>-;lcd. as I have ah.vays r(>ga.rded it as incontest.ii)le, ///(r/ thr Jir.sl di>s by the west, the great fact of the Columbian discovery had l)ecn accomplished ; and in its train had followed the promulgation of th(> ■> Solmstiiiii Cabot, Captain ami rilot-.MaJor oi' liis Sacrcil Impcria! .Majesty tlu' I'aiiDer.ir Don Carlos, lil'ili of tliis uarii ■, and Kiiiu^, our Lord, niailo this ligiiro, extended in plane, in ilie year of the birlh of Oui- Sa\ ioiir Jesus Cliiisf l"il4. inicstni (> (!(' ml;ii(' y On tlic (hdc of tlif Jli'-st J)i-soo>yn/ of (he American Coiitinrni. !':il':il Lull, ;ulju(Ii;iiur the .Xew World to Spain; and, inunodiatciy alVr, the j)!i.t(>sl:rii()ii of I'l rliii^al, and tlie I'stablislnncnt of a line ol" demarcation, and i;ii;ill\ Ihc 'Iwiwy (jf Tordesillas of 7tli June, llOi. Accordinu'lv, wlien Jolui C'aliol iiad, in iiis turn, discovered new countries, lie was ol)li>^'ed to aelvnowledi^c; tiial i! could appertain only to a sovcreiu'ii to dc^clan; tlieni his own, and to coni'er I ill' ilti/iiiiiiiu,/ iililc (iver thcni on the discovcM'cr; and he liad recourse to Jlcnrv \ n.,kini.:oi' KMi;Ian(!, to esca|)e IVoni the exchisivc pretensions of Spain and !'oilu:.al. I'l rhaps al'ter this a[)peal to the I'oyal intervention he had to contend a'^ainst jealous iuiluencos I'roni ahroad ; at least it is certain that the Castilian amha^sador. Kuy (ioiizales de ruel)la, received an order iVoni his Court to uiake i<'pi-eM'iitations against every entei'pi-ise ol' this kind. ' Estas cosas seinejantes son cosn- iiiiiv yuciertas y tales (|ue para ai!,'ora no convien(! entender en (dlas, v 1au,l):ru I'.iirad (|ue a aipiellas ])ai'tes no se ])U(>de extender (>n eslo, sin perjuvcio 1 IJey de I'ortui-al.' ' However this may he, the King- of England Inst, at Wcstiiiiuster, the nth of ]\larch, ItUO, h'tt(Ts ])atent to John Cal'i.t, eili/.e;i (;!' > enic(>, and his three sons, Louis, Sehastian, and Sanriiis, and tlu'ir lieirs, and otliers concerned, to go by sea, uiuler the roval ih'iiish sl;ind;in!. lor the discovery of unknown kuids in the western lu.'mispherc, .•lail ti! l!ike legal ])ossessioii of tlieni in the name of the Crown of England, to be enjoyed hy him, ;ui(l his sons and lu-irs. for tlua'r sole use and iidieritance, as vassals ;ii)(l olheers of the King, reserving one-fifth part of the net ]u-otits of all thepioduefs which should he enteied free of customs at the single port of IJristol. •• V. eniust I'.rohalily ascribe to tlu^ secret practices of the Castilian diplomacy the delays wiiieh atteiulcd tlu^ deijai-ture of the expcnlition, Avliich did not jjut to sea until the ilrst days in the monlli of :\lay, 1 IDT, in a small ship manned hy a Clew ol'i'iglilv'en men, oF wliom one was a liurgundian, and one a (ienot^sc; but the givatrr pa"! were iaighshmen from lU'islol. It had return(Mi hy the bei;ini;i!iu' of August, for on the (kite of the lOth of this month the Kim;' gave Ironi his i)rivy juirsc a gratuity of ivn pounds sterling 'To liym that found the ,\ew Isle." >-mw (lays after, on the 2;5rd of August, the N'enctian merchant Eoivnzf) ]';e;!|Maligo sent from Lond(m to his brothers in Venh-e what he had lenni.d efihe r<>sidls of this voyage, -lohn Cabot had found, at a distance ol' sex en hundred leagues in the west, a firm land, along which he had coast(!d for (he s})aee of three huucb'cd leagues, not having met a living person at the poinls M. '!'AvczMC gives tlio ..ri-iiial .^laiiisli, but tlie lullcAviiig is I5..rg(.nroth's I^iglisii vcjmuii, '• TIicm. mv v.'iy n.i:c..,t;,iu eiitei-jH iscs iin.l must, uot !.,■ g,mo into Mt prwunt. IJcsidus tlioy cau.iut be uXi^cul..! vvillmul linj(i^. On the dale of the first Discoccri/ of the American Continent. 11 of vnino Avoiild of course. Ix- Tutilo if tbo engravod map on which M. d'Avezac reasons was publisluHl l)y Cabot himscll'. To neutralize that conclusion, I lay before you the follo\vinen whom I have the presump- tion to interfere. Their r(>spective observations, althoui-'h brou<,'lit muler one cover by the editor of ^^Ir. Kohl's valuable work, are mad(^ entirely without refer- ence tocach oth(!r, and addr(-ss thems(>lves solely to the theory which each enter- fains and advocates. Tliese tlieories and these comments are public property, and therefore I feel at liberty to rise tliem as best I may, and the uiore fully I do so, the better justice I sliall render both to the writers themselves and to the qu'estion at issue. Mr. Kohl, referrin- to the same :\rappemonde, now in the imiiotheqnc Impcriale in Paris, from which ]\[. d'Avezac derives his arguments, after quoting thi^ inscription numl)ered 17, already referred to, says :— " In ^his inscription the assertion is plain enough, that the celebrated Sebastian Cabot ' made ' this map in th(> year 151 1. Who makes this assertion we do not know. l?y some it is supposed tliat Cabot speaks here himself; others have thought that it must be another ])erson, and that neither the above inscription nor llie other lerrends of tlie ma]) '.\ere composed by Sebastian Cal)ot. I agree with the latter o])inion. These inscriptions all speak of Cabot in the tliird ])erson, and they contain assertions, opinions, and expressions Avhich scarcely could be ascri1)e(i to him, as 1 shall endeavour to make clear when 1 coine to speak partieidarly of them, and show that tliese inscriptions were probably interpolated by the editor or publisher of the ma]i, or some person employed by them. " Tlie inscription No. 17 asserts tliat Cabot ' hizo esta ilgura' (made this figure). What this means, and what kind of agency it ascribes to Cabot in the construction of the map, is not clear. Does the inscription pretend tliat Cabot himself engraved the map ? We have never heard that Cabot, like the German lilercator and the Belgian Ortclius, engraved maps with his own hand. It is very probabk; that the inscription means nothing more than that the map was drawn and engraved after some original manuscript map, supposed ia .have been made by Sebastian Cabot. " The year 1511 is given as the date when the map was engraved, and this date is conilrmed 1)y internal evidence." Mr. Kohl tlien proceeds to show from the geography of the map itself his reason for concluding that the engraving and publication are justly placed in the year 1541. He then goes on to say, — b 2 t£!;»SL;sH^;;ai;atSHi»BiMWliaiCfJJlfflBBS?2T^ t-Liirf'lBir^-^^.^Li.j.h.. . 12 On the date of Ihc first Discovery of the American Continent. " Neither the iniblishor of the map uor the place of its publication is indicated, \vhit'li is a singular, perhaps a suspicious, circumstance. Nearly all l?ood maps of the sixteenth century contain both the nauK! of the publisher and the i)laco of iiublieatiou. Ortelius, in IWs u,-reat work, ' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,' gives a catalogue of nearly two huudicd maps of the sixteenth century, most of them engraved ; and they have, almost without exception, the name of the publisher, the place of printing, and the year of publication. Why have these been omitted on the map? Did not the publisher and printer like to be k]U)wn r "From the fact that the inscriptions and names of the p- ip are written in Sj)anisli, ami also because Charles X. in one of the inscriptions is called ' imestro scilor" (our lord), avc might be induced to think that tlu^ map was engraved and published in Spain. lUit other considerations render this supposition improbable. ♦' Long before the date of this map tlun-e were in Spain very able mathe- maticians and map-makers ; but they made their charts for tin; King of Spain, or lor his hydrogra])hical bureau, and for the use of the Spanish navy. Such charts were kept in manuscript, because the Spanish officials were desirous of preventing their discoveries from being known. In the year 1527, only seventeen years before the date of this map, *lie English merchant llobert Thoriu', in his well-known letter to Doctor Ley, ambassador of Henry \'LI1. to the Emperor (Jharles, says that ' in Spain none may make cardcs but certain a])pointed and allowed masters, as for tliat peradventure it would not sounde well to them that a stranger should know or discover their secretes.' And, in sending to his countryman a very rough and small chart of the world, Thome entreats him not to show or conununieale this chart to tlie other Courts of Europe, ' because it might b(M; a cause of ))aine to the maker.' [s it ])robable that seventeen years after this the \h.acy of the Spanish Government would have been so changed as to allow a complete and detailed chart of the world to be engraved, printed, and published in Spain in the name of the royal chief pilot ? " All th(! first engraved maps of the world, particularly of the new world, were published clsewh(U'e than in Sj)aiu, and priiu?ipally in Italy and Germany. Not one of the editions of Ptolemy, to wliich the first maps of the modern discoveries were attached, was published in Spain. Ortelius, in his catalogue above quoted of two hundred maps and charts of the sixteenth century, has not mentioned a single ma]) representing America, or any parts of it, as having been engraved and published in Spain. The two maps of Americr. which were lirst printed in Spain, so far as I know, are those added, tirst, to the Spanish work of Pedro de On (he date nf the first Discovery nfthe American Continent. 13 Medina, ' Lil)ro do grande/.as y cosas momn-ables do Spana,' published in 15 19 ; and secondly, to (Joniara's History of llu' Indies, published in 15:) l. These, however, are not sea-charts, but only t,'encral outlines of the new world iu a very small coni[)ass, gathered IVom well-known foreign publie:itions. The publishing of sueh small charts might have 1)een easily allowed l)y the Spanish Government in the middle of the sixteeutli century, without incurring any danger of betraving its secrets. " Oviedo, ill the seciond jiarl, of his great work on the History of America, which he wrot(> several year; after 1514, montious the map of Kibero made in 152!), and of Chaves luade in 15;]0 ; but does not allude to a maj) of Sebastian Cabot as having been ])ublished in Spain. " The copy of the map of 15 H, which I am examining, was fouiul in Germany , but. several co])ies of ma])s ascribed to Sebastian (Jabot formerly existed in England, and one is mentioned by Ortelius as having been seen by him in Hclgium. These nuiy have been copies, or perhaps ditfercnt editions, of the ma}) engraved in 1511, as they all have a general resemblance. But, though seen in other countries, not a single copy is known to have existed in Spain, or to have come from tiiere. "We therefore come to the conclusion that the Cabot map was ucither engraved nor published in Sjiain, but perhaps in Germany or Helgium. In Belgium, parlieularly iu Antwerp, many Si)anish books were early printed, and there, as well as in Spain, they might call the Emperor Charles " nuestro scnor." There, too, they could take more liberty Avith Spanish secrets; though even there the publisher may have had his reasons for not mentioning his name, or the place of publication. " If it should ap])ear iirobaljle, for the reasons adduced, that this map was not published in Spain but in some other c(mutry, as Belgium for instance, it is rendered extremely doubtful whether Cabot, who was then residing in Spain, had any agency in it. Is it to be supposed that he would direct the Avork I'rom so distant a country as Spain, examine proof-sheets, correct errors, and do other necessary acts in the publicti^lon ? This doubt is confirmed by the contents of th(^ map, such as the configuratiou of the countries, the orthography of the names attaeluMl to them, and other circvmistanccs, which go to show that Cabot could not have prepared or inspi^cted the work. " In the inscription No. 17 the map is called a marine chart (carta de marear) ; but it is not strictly this, but something between a chart and a map, for in irgions Avhere the interior was known, as in Europe or Asia, the map gives the riv(^!'s, mountains, and cities bedongiiig thereto. 14 On the d((t(' of the first Discovery of the American Contiuent. "But tlio shnpo ;m(l outlines of tliosc portions of tho old world, although (■ov(M'('d liy n series of names, are not accurately cjivon. They wore much bettor represented on several maps of tJie middle of the sixteenth century, particularly on some Pr(>neh and Italian maps. Even the coasts of the best and earliest known of all the seas, the 3lediterranean, are here much misshapen and mis- placed. Even Spain itself, and also Great Jiritain, the countries in which Sebastian Cahot passed the i;reater part of his life, are very carelessly repre- sented : as, for instance, Ireland is mad(> as lar^a^ as En^hmd and Scotland together. In Spain we tind places like "CJuadclnpe" mentioned, hut not tin; important harbour of C'orunna. In (Jreat Britain several small places are indi- cated, but not Bristol — that commercial centre in which the Cabots lived, and from which their ex])loring cxjjcditions ])roceeded. " In connection Avith Bristol I may also observe, that this map gives to Iceland th(> longitude of t]i(> Shetland Islands, and ])laees it dii-ectly north instead of north-west of Scotland. The route from Croat Britain to Iceland had been, from time immemorial, familiar to British ships in their yearly traflic. That Iceland was situated north-west and not ntn-tli of Great Britain must have been known in Cabot's time to every sailor in Bristol, How then can Me account for it that Cabot, on a maritime chart, should have made so great a mistake with respect to an island so well known ? " The ill success of the author in delineating the oldest countries does not load us to anticipate any l)ett(}r results "n his attempts in the ncAV world. I may, however, add that his latitudes and drawings of the new world are, in some instances, better than those of the old world, as in those of Mexico, Yucatan, Florida, and some others. " The language of the map is partly Latin and partly Syjanish. The Latin is not always correct or elegant. But it is more surprising that tho Spanish terms and names are corrupted and disfigured in such an extraordinary way that sometimes it is nc^arly impossible to make out what the author means. I will give some instances : ' Espana ' is called ' Ilispaia ' ; the island ' S. ^Miguel.' ' S. JMigel ' ; the island ' S. Juan Estevanez,' ' do Juaninos ' (?) * Bimini ' is written ' binimi ' ; the Laguna of Nicaragua ' Laguna do Nicaxagoe.' The Spanish phrase, which occurs on the map, ' por aqui no puede passar' (here one cannot i)ass), is written ' pora quinopede pasar.' Another Spanish phrase, ' aqui se desembarco I'amfilo do Narvaez ' (here lauded Pamphilo dc Narvaez), is written thus, ' aqui do san bareo panflo de narnaez,' &c. " Such errors furnish strong proof that Cabot had no agency either in writing tho I T! On the date of the first Discovery of the Aincrienn Continent. 15 mill) or cormttini? it, or iii any way suporiiitcndiag its publication, but, on the contvarv, that some ii,'norant (.-oniijiler had copicMl an original manuscript in a very cavc'lcss manner, and had written, in bad Spanish, his construelion of the lant,nia;;e. Still, in the inscription No. 17, the map is styled 'a taithful aiul most h^arnod i,nude ' {Jida (lontissiiiKiqne nuiffistra). " TIjc old maps, it i> true, often iiave a quaint stylo of their own— a mixture of Spanish, I'ortu^uese, Italian, &e. ; but such barbarous language and such false orthogra])hy as are seen on tliis map of 1511- are never found on the maps of llibero ]n'ior to this date, nor on the Treneh charts some years later, where every- thing is comparatively corr(>et. 'On this map, in the region of Carolina, a tiger-lik(> aniiual is drawn, which, with a sweej) of his tail, completely covers up, or brushes out, a largo section of an important coast. It would appear to be incredible that a distinguished mariner and a mathematician like Cabot should not have been shocked by such a rough and stupid proceeding, and l-hat he should not have corr(>cted tiK> draftsman, who could prefer an elaborate ])ietuve of the tuft of a tall to a correct drawing of tiie eoast-line, " This may suffice for the present In considering the question how far Sebastian Cabot may be regarded as having made this map; or, rather, it may serve to show bow utterly improbable It is that it was either originally drawn by him or executed under his direction or superintendence'." As the Inscriptions have never been published [ have not myself had an op])or- tuiuty of examining them, but I am under a strong impression that the Latin inscriptions must much exceed in matter those in Spanish, and treat of subjects untouched on by Cabot in the original. I derive this tiiouglit from ^Iv. Kohl's descri])tion of them, lie says : — " Thev are of the most meagre character ; they convey no historical or geo- graphical iuformati(m such as we should expect from th(> haiul of a nuister, and (ispeci;illy from the great cosmographer of his age, which Sebastian Cal)0t is admitted to have been. There is only one subject in all the nineteen inscriptions of the map which appears worthy of Cabot, that is the variation of the magnetic needle, that great discovery of Cabot, which is treated of and explained in the inscription No. 17. " Sebastian Cabot Is described by Peter Martyr, and others who conversed with him, as an agreeable and modest man. But wluM-ever he is mentioned in these inscriptions, it is with some pompous description like this: 'Navigandl arte astronomlaque perltisslmus ' (In the art of navigation and in astronomy the most 16 On the (late of the first Discovery of the America'' Contiticut. cxporioncod iiinn). Als\ in tlus inscription No. 17, where if is stated that the map was jiiach- l>y Sehastian Cnhot, he is ealh'd ' Astroruni pcrilia uavi- gan(]i(|iie arte onmimii ddctissiinns' (of all men Ihe most Icanicd in astronomy and in the art of navi^'atioii)- 'nies(> expressions would appear to i;o heyond his customary modesty, if we are to helieve that it is C'ahot hiiiiselt' who here s))eaks. It looks ralliei- lik(^ tlie reeommendution of a map-seller, who wisli(>s to pro(;ur(! ii larjjo sale under colour of a i^Toat name; like the speculator complained of by ITumholdl, who had published, against his will, mmuc maps luulcr his name, to which he had contributed uothinr^ else. •'Such also is the foUowir.i,' com|)limentary expression ronnectcd with the al)ov(>, which runs thus : ' Therefore you may nsc this hydro-^^-aphieal chart as the most faithful and the most learned nnstn;ss [Jiilu du-(i.s.siiii(iqii(' hidijistra) in sailiui,' to any part of the ocean wherever you should have the mind to sail.' I cannot, tlierefor(>, but e(meur in the opinion both of ^Ir. Haneroft and :Mr. Charles Deane, 'that Cabot him.sclf evidently did not write these inscriptions.' " Now, it will be se(>n from the fore^'oinij slatoments, that M. d'Avczac speaks of this nuip as being puhlisheiJ by Cabot. ^Nfr. Kohl, on the other hand, in en- deavouring to prove that Cabot was not the publisher, arrives at the idea that " Cabot had no agency cither in irrifiii map or correcting it, or in any way superintending its publieati(m." 1 propcjse to slunv that both these inferences are incorrect. Mr. Kohl has here very clearly demonstrated that " Cabot had no agen'«y ii- correcting the map, or in any way superintending its publication." i?ut when he says that " he had no agency in wriling it," I think, if he were ri'ally engaged in discussion with M. d'Avczac, ho Avould lay himself open to a very damaging reply ; for it wouhl involve him in the dilem.ma of cither arbi- irarily and unreasonably rejecting the distinct claim of the map itself to some sort of authorship by Cabot, or else of avowing that Cabot's information was really mad(! us(! of, but only at second hand. In the latter event, it would be quite competent to :M. d'Avczac to say, " Well, let it be conceded that the map is a compilation, but if only it can be proved that that portion of it Avhich relates to Cabot's discoveries is based upon a map laid down by him, liis own assertion that his first discovery was made in IWli remains in force." And on this looting :M. d'Avczaci's argument would hold an uncommonly strong position, inasmuch as this date of ll.'.)l. would have been copied from such original assertion of Cabot by two several map makers : viz. the compiler of the map iu the BlhUolhcqtte Imperialc, of which that seen in Oxford by Chytrieus is • Oil the dull' iif llii' Jir.sl J)isi;i'iiioii^h in the oriuiiiai wiiti'r hut oiilv in tlic copyist, and iVoiii one ol'thcsi' I can show that llic copy was niaih' IVoiii a iiianiiscript, and not IVoni a printed map. Thus l/iniina (\r Nicarau'iia is rcii(h'rcd " liau'inia do Nicaxan'oc." Instead ol' an " y "' wc liiid an .c. Now, every one ac(piainted witli Spanish knows that a iiiaimscript Spanish /• is oi' the lorm ol' our northern .r. and iieiice it is pretty c\ ident tliat thi- Iranscriher wiio showed his ignorance ol' the hini^'iiage hy writinu,' " (nira (/ifiiio/ii'i/r [insar" instead ol' ^^ par mini iio /mri/r /lasur" derived his *• Xicaxag'oe " I'rom a luaiinsei'ipt in wiiich tlu' ••/■" was i;iveii in a I'oi-m which lie very naturally took for an .c. T'liat this inamiscri[)t was Cahot's it would hi^ I'litile to deny in preseiiee of the (listi;;ct Spanish legend ([Uoted hotli l)y M. d'Ave/.ac and Mr. K(dil to the (Mi'eet that Sehastian Cahot "///:o cs/n Jifftira extcii-sii ill iiliiiio."' That the (liil'er(>iit en:;ra\('d maps were also derived — so far as rci^ards this ]iorl ion of them — frora the same Sii.iuish manuscript is >.liowii hy the Latin translations beini;' dilfercnt reiiderini^s of tho same oriuinal laiinua;j;'e. It will Ihi'ii. [ liope, be seen liiat the occurrence of the date of 111)1. both in the Spanish and Latin inscriptions on tiie inai) is entirely (h'pri\ed of the forc(! which it Avuuld hav(^ jiosscsscd had this en!i:ravcd map emanated from Cabot's own hand; nevertheless, .AL d'Ave/.ac may well say to me, if you prove that Cabot, with hi:; own hand, wrote in his orij^'inal Spanish map that his first discovery was maile in 1 ID t, what further need of arii'umeut 'r In reply I say, I concede.' that he drew the original map, but not that lu; wrote the date 1 i!)i, (>von thouLjIi such date be so copied by two iii(U>pen(h'iit transcribers. Now it miLiht so hap- jien tliiit the shape of the ivoman cyphers describing any given number would absolutely preclud(> the pi)s.sibility ()i any mistranscription for anothm- given nmnber. Such is nut the case in the present in.slance. The lioman h.'tter v in the uumcrals vii. — which represent 7 — has only to be carelessly drawn so as to be not well joined at the base, and wc have two strokes, w liieh, Avitb the two ones, will make the four strokes wliiidi j\[. d'Avezac quotes J'roni the inscription as representing his number t. Ami bo it observed that this may occur with far more case in a manuscript, csiiccially upon vellum, than on an engraved niaji on liajKn-. The high probability of this mistranscription having occurred is shown by tile simple faci that ILakluyt, in rc[)rinting in 1000 tlio extract which he had c ^tnfeT^rthe^SjKS:" issn^fw.ilTJi.yjt.j'.-'j ^ 18 On till' ihili' of III)' I'lrsl /)ls('i)riu'i/ of I lie Auii'i'tcun Coiitiiii'iit pivcii iVoiii ('li'iMcni .\*'s copy of tlic niM|) in l.'»Si), corrects llic iliitc from 1 tUl to 1 l!)7. Iliikliivt liiiiiscir tells us, " 'I'liat Cabot's own maps and (liscoiirses (Irawnc and written h_v liiniscH', were in Ilic custodic of tlie wnrsliiprul! .Master William W'ortliinnton, one of her Majestic's [jciisioncrs, who was \ery wiliini; to Miller them to lie ovcrsccnc and ))uhlishc(l." These manuscript maps have nrvcr turned up .vinci', and tlierel'ore we an' unable to test by ocular proof whether my suunesl ion of 'in ill-written \. bi' correct or not; liut lliey wei'C uccossible In iiakluU.aiul it is rcasonabh* to infer that he did not malu; this important altera! iou in a date without reference to them. In any case, no one can deny that this accident in the way of bad wrilini;' was (luitc possible. Ibit now that I have once led you to see tiiat there hhii/ have been an error in the la\inn'down of this date, I will now |)roceed to prose that there ///».v/ have been; or, in other words, I come to the second di\ ision of my task, which is to j)rove, IVoiu eviernal evidiMiee, that the tirst diseo\ci'y coidd not ha\(' been ma(h.' Ml !)t. In the first place, if new finds in the U'esI had been discovered in ll'.)i. by Sebastian Caliot or his father, he himself would iioi have been unaware of a fact of so n'reat iinporlaiice, nor would he have failed to nicnlioii it when conversiui; witli (libel's at a later dale on the subject of his own discoxcries, nor would the umiuestioned discdveiy of 1 107 have been made the one iii'cal subject of claim to distinction. Iiiil w hat do we liiid r The follow in;;' is Cabot's own statement, as made to (Jalleazzo Hottrit;'ari, the Pope's le;^ate ill S[iain, and recorded by the latter in a conversation at a later piM'iod with some A'enetian ^•entlemen: — •' ^\'llen my father departed from \"enice many years since to dwell in I'hu^land to carry on merchandise, he look me with liim to the city of li0ii(h)n, I. beinu,' then very youui;, yet bavin;;' some kiiowled>fe of k'tters of humanity aud of the sidjcre. 31 v father died at tlie tinu; when news vas lirouuhl that Don ('liristo])her Cohnnbus, a (Jcuoese, had discovered the coast of India, whereof was <,n'cat talk in all the Court of Kiny' Henry \'ll,, who then rei;^ne(l, it being declared to be a thing' more divine than human to have found that till then unknown way to the East where the spices grow. From this there sprung up in me a great desire, nay, even a burning of the heart, to attempt some notable thing, and, understanding, by reason of the sphere, that, if I should saile by way of the north-Mcst, 1 should have a shorter road I'or reaching India, 1 caused the king to lie informed of my idea, who was very pleased with it, and furnished me with two caravels supplied with all things necessary I'or the voyage, which :# 1 f)ii lln' iliitc nf llir Jii'sf nincorci'i/ of f/io Auicvican Cnntnu'til. 1'.) wiis ill ilic yi'.'ir 1 I'.X't, ill the iH-uiiiiiiiii,' oi siiiniiicr. i l)ci,':iii In sail(! towiinl tin; tiortli wvsl, IliiiiUiiii;' 1(1 liiid iiu olIuT Inin. Ilnii lliat of C:illi:»y, :iiiry ; hut. as the matter is very recent, the writer was unable to learn the number killed." Cabot relumed to England in the early part of August 1 1!)7 from the voyau'c of actual discovery of Americ,-, whi(di M. d'Avezac claims for his second, and I for bis tlrst ; so that it is manifest that the conversation here recorded had reiereiice to that voyage, whili' no allusion whatever is made to a previous discovery in 1 l!)t. Again : — if new lands in the AV(>st had been discovered in 1 l!)t by John and S(>bastian Cabot, King Henry \' II. would not have been unawar.' either of the f; ct itself or of its importance, nor Avould the unquesticmed discovery of lt*.)7 have been the one great subject of claim to distinction. The interest of llenrv V'll. in western discovery may l)e judged from the fact recorded by rerdiuand Columbus, that his father, Cbristo])her Columbus, had c 2 LIBRARY \ !j/f, r// 'J 'I ,11)' If 20 0)1 the (l(it(> of the first Discovcrn of the American Continent. sent liis l)i'otluM' liartliolomcw to Kiiin' llonry, and that when tlic Xing saw the map jircsfutcd to liini l)y liavtholoraew he accepted the (illev oi" his hrother Christopliei' with a joyliil eouiKenanee, and s(>nt to call him into England. In the interval, however, Colnmhus had niad(> his i^Teat discovery for Spain, nineh time having' elaps(>d in the mission of iJartlinlomew in consecpience of his havini^ been captnred and plnndered hy ])irates, and heinLi^ ol)lii;('d to delay his appear- ance hclnre the Kinu until he had saved some money by makinj^ soa-charts. Lnder ilii-; disappointment it may be coneeivcHl with what ])leasure the discovery of lands in the AVest in ] li) !• bv Ennlislumni wonhl he rcH'cived l)v the Kin"-. had sneh occurred. IJut what do W(> lind ? On the 5tli of IMarcli, 1J!)(5, the King' ^Tiiiiis a in'ivileu;e to John C'alxH and his sons to sail to all i)arts of the east, Avcsl, ;'nd ncu'th. under the Royal banners and ensigns, in ships to l)e pro- vided at llieir own expense, to seek out and discover whatever islands or countries tliere might l)e that bad hitlun'to been imknown to all ("hristians. Thes(> thev might subdue and occupy, but they were to pay to the King the fifth ])art of the gams resulting therefrom. Surely these are not the t(>rms which would be used with reference to the exploring of a hind alr(>ady discovered, and from which great results nunlit lie expected. Let us conijiare this ])atent with another granted hy (he same sovereign to the same Cabots on th(> ord of Feln'uary, 1198, ai'ier tlie untiuesf irmable disc-overy ol' the Newfoundland in 1 l'.)7. AVe there find the course of proceeding very dilferenl. I'ermission is given to John Cabot to take in any part of England six I'nglish ships of 200 tons or luuh'r Avith their recpiisiie a[)parcl, and as many sailors as would go, and convey them to ilio new found land and islands, with a commandment to all oilicers and suhjects, on seeing these h tt(>rs ])atcnt, to alford every help 1o the said John Cabot and those? who acetjmpanied him. JUit tli(> question may be asked : On what groiuid was this first patent asked for in 1 VM) r Does it not suggest a discovery already made '- \.\\ re[)ly I have only to refer you to Cai)oi's conversation with J^ottrigari, already read, and it will be seen that the jiateut Mas issued in consequence of the report of Cokuubus's discovery liavii.ii' incn.'ased in his heart a great ilame of desire to attempt some notable thing, and his subsequent representation to the King that he could reach India by a shorten- route by the north-west. Can anything- more plainly show than this that in 1190 this "notable thing" had not yet Ijcen effected? Can any words state more distinctly than these that this " notal)le thing" Avas yet to be '' atttnupted r" l'\n'thermorc, as regards Henry VII,, the date of a ;j:rant fiom the i)rivy-])i!rLX' expenses of £10 to " hym who found the New '« » .W y Oil the date of the first Discovery of the American Continent. 21 ^' Isle," namely, Aiiyiist lOtli, 1J!)7, is lolcraljly .sigiiilicaut in coiincction with the siliMicc as to any iirovioiis discovery 1)y tli(> same man. i)nt au'ain: — if new lands in tlic Wo^t liad liccn diseovered in 119-1 hy John or Sel)astian Cabot, two Spaniards r(>sidcnt in Enijland as representatives of the S])anish sovereigns, and jealous of their prior (daim to the hind so discovered, Avould not liavo been asleep cither to the fact itself or to its import aiieo, nor would the uufjuestioned discovery of 1M)7 have l)ccn mtidc the one great subject of claim to distinction. But what do we (ind? The iirst patent bad been granted to Cabot by Henry Ml. on tlie ,")(h of .March, 1 10(5, and on the 28th of that iionth Ihe following letter is Avritten from rcrdinand and Isabella to Doctor de i'ucbla, one of their two ambassadors in London: — " \'ou write that a jjcrson like CoUnnbus has come to Ilnuland for the pur- pose of ])ersuading the King to enter into an undertaking similar to that of the Indies, Avithout prejudice to Spain and Tortugal. He is (piite at liberty. But we believe that this undertaking was thrown in the way of the King of England by the King of Prance, with the premeditat(;d intention of distracting him from bis other business. Take care that the King of England be not deceived in this or in any oIIkm- matter. The Erencb Avill try as hard as they can to lead him into such uncb-rtakings, but they are very uncertain eutcrprizcs, and must not be U'one into at iiresout. Besides, they cannot bo executed without prejudice to us and to the King of Portugal." In the presence^ of such a dociimeiit as this, is it possible to believe that a discovery of Anu'rica by Englishmen had been previously efTected hi llOL? But, again, the lollowing is a letter from Pedro de Ayala, the other Spanish ambassador in London, written to Perdinand and Isabella on the 2r)th July, 1198, after t lie rcttirn of Cabot f'-jm his successful voyage of 11-97, ami when he had started on a fresh voyage under a patent granted hy the King on ;'>rd of Feb- ruary, ] 198 :' "1 tliiidv yoiu' ^Majesties have already beard that the King of Ihigland has e([iiippcd a fleet in order to discover certain islands and continents which he was informed some ])eo])le from Ih'istol, a\1io manned a few ships for the same ])urpose last yeai', bad fouml. I have seen the map wliicli the discoverer has made, who is another tJcnoisc, lik(> Columbus, and who has been in Seville ami in Lisbon, asking assistance for bis discoveries. The people of Bi'istol have, for the last seven years, sent out every year two, three, or lour light ships (caravelas), iu " Sl'c Borgenrolli's C'lj/t/aAir <;/■ 5''<''i' Papers rdatinij to l-'.iiijland and Spain. London, I8(!'.', vol.1. page 1G8. 22 On the date of the first Discovery of the American Continent. search of the island of Brazil and i\\v seven cities, according to the fancy of this Genoese. The Kiiit;' determined to send out (ships) hecause, the year before, they In'oug'ht certain news that they had found land. His tlect consisted of live vessels, ^vhieii carried provisions for one year. It is said that one of them, in whicli one Friar IJuil Avent, has returned to Ireland in great distress, the ship being much damaged. The Genoese has continued his voyage. I have seen, on a chart, the direetion whicli tliey took, and the distance they sailed; and I think what they havt> found, or what lh(>y arc; in search of, is wliat your Highnesses already jjussess It is exi)ected that they will be back in llie month of Scptcm])er. 1 writt" this ])eeauM> the King of England lias often spok'Mi to me on this subject, and he tiiinks that vour lliiihnesscs will take "Teat interest in it. I think it is not further distant than four hundred leagues. I told him that, in my opinion, the land was already in the possession of your AEajesties ; but though I gav(^ hin\ my reasons, he did not like them. I believe that your Highnesses are already im'ormed of this matter; and I do not now^ send the chai't or uwpa umndl which tiiat man has made, and which, according to my opinion, is false, since it makes it appear as if the land in question was not the said islands." Can anything moi(^ distinctly state than this letter does, that, though the Bristol people had sent out expeditions every year since ll'Jl, the King now sent out siiips only because now, at length, in 1 ti)7, " they brought certain news that they had fouiu' land ? " But again : — if new lands in the West had been discovered in llOl by John or Se])astian Cabot, Venetians in England who took a pride in the glory of their country, as represented I)y the discoverer, who was their countryman, would not have been asleep either to the fact or to its importance, nor would the unques- tioned discovery of 1 197 have bc^cn made the one great subject of claim to distinction. But what do we tlnd ? Tlie following is a letter dated from London, 23rd August, 1197, from liorenzo Pasqualigo to his brothers Alviso and Francesco, about a fortnight after Cabot's return from his successful voyage in 1197 : — " The Venetian, our countryman, who went with a ship from Bristol in quest of new islands, is I'etumed, and says that 700 leagues hence he discovered land, the territory of the Grand Cliam (Grand Cam). He coasted for 300 leagues and landed ; saw no luunan beings, but he has brought hither to the King certain snares which had l)een set to catch game, and a needle for making nets ; he also found some felled tret^s, wherefore he supposed there were inhabitants, and re- turned to his ship in alarni. Oh the date of (he first Discovery of the American Continent. 23 " He was tlii'(,'0 months on the voyage, and on his return he saw two islands to starhoard, hut would not land, time l)oing precious, as lu; Avas short of provi- sions. ITe says that (he tides are, slack, and do not How as they do here. The King of England is much pleased with this intelligence. " The King has promised that in the spring our countrymen shall have ten siiips, armed to his ordei-, and at liis rccpiest has com^cHled him all the prisoners, except suci. as are conlined for high tr(>as(tn, to man his fleet. The King has also "iven him money wherewith to nmuse himselt till then, and he is now at i?ristol with his wife, who is also ^''enelian, and with his sons ; his name is Zuan Cabot, and he is styled the great admiral. Vast honour is paid him ; he dresses in silk, and these English run aftcM- him like mad people, so that he can enlist as many of them as he pleases, aiul a numl)er of our rogues hesidi^s. " The diseoA-erer of these places planted on his ucmv found land a large cross, ■with one Hag of England and another of St. ]\[ark, by reason (jf his being a A'enetian, so that our banner has iioated very far a-lleld." I ask, is this language compatible with the possibility of a previous discovery of America by Cabot in 1 19 !■ ? But, again, under date of 2lth August 1107, a day later than the preceding, we have ■' Jscws recinvcd this morning in Venice froni England." " Some months ago his Majesty sent out a Venetian who is a very good mariner and has good skill in discovering new islands, and he has returned safe and has found two very large and fertile ncnv islands; having likewise discovered the s(!ven cities, 100 leagues from England on the western passage. This next spring his [Majesty means to send him with tifteen or twenty ships.'' The above expression, " has good skill in discoverhig new islaiuls," has led ^[r. ,]. E. NielioUs, the city librarian of Bristol, who has recently brought out a pretty little book on Sebastian Cabot, to think that this letter is a recognition of previous discoveries ; but wo have only to notice the statement that Cabot " had likewise discovered the seven cities " to see that the writer was announcing the final success of those efforts to discover Brazil and the seven cities in search of which I'edro de Ayala tells us he had every year since 1191 induced the people of Bristol to send out caravels. And this leads me to iiotice that my I'rieiul M. d'Avezac adduces this very passage from Pedro de Ayala's letter in corroboration of his date of 1191, as shoAving that expeditions were at that time sent out to the Avcstward. But Mr. Kohl has made a most sagacious and just Sl'O IJawduii Brown's Vtnctiun State Papirs, vol. i. ¥o. 7 jO. 21. On Ihc dale of thr first Discocery of the American Continent. obsci'vation on this head, which entirely sn))Voi'ts any such conchision. " If," ho says, "a i;roat country liad ahvady Ix'cn (bund there in 11!)1, it wouhl have been quite unnecessary lor the Cal)ots to persuade the Bristol men to continue their ex])lorinij: exjieditions after that time ;" Avhereas they were continued in 11.95, 1 M)n, and 111)7. To my own iniiul this ari^'iiment is ])eyond all reply. Anollier idea has been advanced by Mr. NichoUs which must not be overlooked, as it appears to pr(>seiit a formidable olijeetion. lie says : — " Pasqualii;o tells us they were three months on the voyai^'c; yet we lind the luvul of the firm, John, at the Court in London, ami in possession of the reward on the lOth of Ausj;'ust, 111)7. 'I'lie land was s -en, it is said, on June 21th. If they wvvc three months on the vova^■e — thev sailed about tlie lOtli of ^lav — and were thirtv-ibnv (lavs beatinj'' out ; take the same ^ iM'iod for their return, iiu-ludi'iL;' tlie hindin;^' at Bristol, and the two days' journ(\v to London, and it will just y'ive three weeks to do what wo vcMiture to say no hydrographer of th(> ])res(>nt day, with all tin; knowledg'c which ex])erience has brought, and all the apjdianccs of .science, would venture lo attempt in le'ss than as many months." The vmnnrk is very just, but is admirably met by a piece of reasoning which ^Ir. Kohl had already committed to paper in liis valuable work. lie says : — "Th(> iirst or preliniinary exploring' (^x])editions for discov(>ry were generally short excursions; and lor good reasons, such as the uncertain nature of the ju'ojecls, and consequently the diirn.'ulty of obtaining the requisite means of conducting tluin. Thev usuallv conmienced such vovaii'cs with one or two lii-ht and small slii})s, and, nttw having made a discovery, or even obtained a distatit glimpse of some new country, they were eager to return and proclaim their success, ami to ol)1ain a nnvard, and a larger outfit for more thorough explorations. AVe observe, therefore, that in the history of discovery the iirst exploring expeditions coutiimed but a very short time, whilst in the second undertaking a large tleet and mon* ample supplies have enabled the adventurers to remain longer abroad, and to inake mor(> thorough surveys. But if we adopt the year 1191. for the Iirst exploring voyage of the Cabots, we find that in the two subsequent years, 1 11).") and 1 U)(i, no voyage at all was performed ; and that in 111)7, what Avould then lie their second voyage, A\as a very small undertaking with only one litth^ vessel, t!ie •']Mattlicw,"froni which theyreturned quickly after an absence of only three months. 8ueli inactivity in the Cabots, the King, and the Bristol men, after the apparei'.tly great success of 1191, with the small outfit and quick return in 1197, would l)e jierfectly out of analoay with the usual course of things, and wholly unaccouui- able. If, on the contrary, rejecting the theory which sup])oses a voyage to have On thn date of the first Discovcn/ of the American Conliuoit. 25 been made in 11-91', we cniiie io tlic conclusion llial tlin first succossl'iil cxploi'iiiij expedition of 1 1!)8, (biMvliich Scljastian Cal)ot was fiii-nisliod Avitli several sliijjs and three hundred men, with which lie (Wjdored a tract of coast of more tlian one tliousand Icacfues in l(>nnth, and irom wliich he rctiii'iied after more than half a year's absence, Avas not his third but his second underlakini?, then evcrythini;' is dear and in harmony Avitli the usual and natural course of (>vents." 1 AA'ill just mention one more pieces of corroborative evidence ibr what it may be worth "William Barrett, the author of lli<> Jlinlorii anil Antiqitilirs of the C'dij of Bristol, gives, on page 172, the Ibllowing passage from an aneienl Bristol manuscript in his possession : — " Tn tin; year 111)7, the '1\A\\ June, on St. .Tohn's day, was Newfoundland found hy Bristol men, in a shij) called the 'iMatthew.'" By the various documents which I have adduced, so notably inde])endeiit of each other, yet so concurrent in the testimony Avhich they bear, I trust that I have suflici(>ntly proved that tin; first discovery could not have taken place in 1491. Against this array of evidcMico the only document that is ])retended to be adduced is an engraved map, Avhich has been satisJactorily shown to be second- hand from Calxit. and conse(]^uently bable to the accidents of mis-transcription. I liave shown also that the special conslruction of the numeral admitted of such mis-transcription of the date in question. It has further been shown that as there were two )naps bearing the same legeiul, but rendered differently in the Latin translation, there was one origin ibr both, bid that the original had not 1h(> Latin transcriptions at all, and hence the occurrence of the date on both tlie Spanisli and Latin inscriptions loses its force as a double ])iece of evidence. Tliat the original was Spanish is clear, because all the names of places ar(^ Spanish ; and that the original was a manuscript I have shown by the ignorant transference into tlie engraved map of an a- instead of an r, i'rom the Sjjanisli form of that letter Avhen Avritten by the band. That the original Avas Cabot's it Avould be UHAvarrantable to deny, as both the enii'raA-ed copies, evidently produced ind(>pendently of each other, declare the authorship. I now proceed to the third division of my task, Avhich is to pi'ove that the mis- leading date iras an erroneous transcn'iition from that original manuscript nia]i of Cabot's. In the year 1589 Ilakluyt gave in hisone-\olume edition of tlie VriucipcU Nav'iiiatlous the inscription from Cabot's map cut by Clement ^Vdanis containing this date of 1191. When he brought out in 1000 the third volume of his threc- vobnne edition of his great Avork he again gave this inscription, but Avith the date altered to 1197. This important change my friend M. d'Avezac regards as a d j!M!ikH!;,ii7.IJ*t,4,W4i^,J,-,i 26 On I he da to of the first Discovery of the American Continent. moro typoi^rapliioal orvoi- little doscM-vini? of notice^. [ am, liowovcr, jiropared to prove distinct intciiliou in the cliann'o. In the very inscription in question, the country "first seen," oUas the "])rinia vista," is said to ahotnul with white bears, an exjiression ^A•hicll may have well led to the conclusion that Labrador was the country relernvl to. Now it so happens that in this same edition of llalduyt, in which the dale is altered from IUJI to Hi)?, is a very remarkable map in which on Labrador i; written this inscription: — "This land was discovered by .John and Sebastian Cabot for King Ilenry VII. 1-197." ]\[y friend may here object that Labrador may have been discovered in lil)?, without impui^'uini;' the "prima vista" of 11-9 1, inasmuch as he has distinctly stated that Sebastian Cabot pretends to nothing moro in this voyage of 1491. than IX first sight of land. If so, then, how comes the very legend which contains this date of I'lOi' to contain also a \cry com])act and gra])hic descri])tion of the country, of the habits of the natives and their mode of ilghting, of the beasts, Ijirds, and iishes, and among them these white bears, which may A\ell be found in abundance in Labrador, but scarcely much to the south, as for instance in New- foundland, especially in the montli of June? I think, therefore, it would be attributing to Uakluvt an imbecile inconsistencv to doubt that the change of the date from 11-91' to 1 197 was other than an intelligent and intentional change. Xow, when I ilnd Hiehard Uakluvt, himself a Prebendary of Bristol cathedral, alterhig, in his own book, and as 1 have shoAvn intentionally, the date of the discovery of the continent of AnKM'ica by Bristol men from 1191 to 1 197, and that in correction of the veiy document in which be had originally stated the earlier date; when I And, moreover, that he had the o})portunity of seeing, in the possession of his friend William AVorthington, the original iigures in Cabot's handwriting from Avhich the dates had been oriyinallv taken — ail alteration which, if not nuide on well-ascertained grounds, wotild have been an unpardonable dis- paragement of the glory not of Bristol only, btit of England— I come to the positive conclusion that h(> had first satisfied himself upon the point, with his own eyes, from an original map of Cabot's, and also that he had become convinced that that important event, the discovery of the continent of America, had taken place in 1197 and not in 1 19t, as I have otherwise, I hope, abmidautly proved from a variety of concurrent evidence, in which there could be no possibility either of collusion or of mistake. I am, ^Iv dear Perceval, .— t-^-^ Yours very truly.