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.J- ■

t;?

THE DATE OF CABOT'S DISCOVERY

OF THE

AMERICAN CONTINENT,

AND

AN ALLEGED FOEGEEY OF
CHATTERTON.

A REJOINDER

MR. HENRY H A R R I S S E.

Beprinted from. Notes and Queries ^
August 14, 1897.

LONDON :

B. F. STEVENS.
1897.

Z-' '■-■ f

CZL//5

■

JOHN CABOT AND THE MATTHEW.

(8*'' S. XI. 501 ; xii. 49.)
The object of my communication at the first
reference was simply to call the attention of
critical historians to certain allegations regarding
the discovery of the continent of North America.
I stated that the Fust MS. was akin to Barretts :
Barrett's MS. The Fust MS.

"In the ye.r 1497, the "This year on St. John
24th of June, on St. John's the Baptist s Day the and
Dav was Newtoundland of America was found by
found by Bristol men, in a the Merchants of B-Htowo
Bhip called the Matthew." in a shippe of Bnstowo
^ called the Mathew.

I added that the extract from the Fust MS. pub-

lished by Mr. Wearb had already been printed,

more than twenty years ago, in the * Encyclopedia

Britannica* : —

. ' Encyclop. Britan.: iv. 350. Mr. Weare's Book, p. 116.

" This year (1497), on St. '« This year, on St. John
John the Baptist's Dav, the the Baptist 8 Day, the and
land of America was found of America was found by
bv the merchants of Bris- the Merchants of B.istow
towe in a ship of Bristol in a .hippe of Bristowe,
called the Matthew, the called the Mathew; the
which said ship departed which sa.d ship «1eparted
from the port of Bristowe from the port of Bnstowe
the 2d of May, and came the second day of May ana
home again 6th August came home a^ain the bth ot
following." August next following.

The fact that in one of those extracts *' Matthew "
ia Bpelled with one t only, whilst in the other it ia
spelled with two, can hardly authorize Mr. Weare
to say that he published this complete text "for
the first time." The statements concerning the
mayors and sheriffs are separate entries, bearing
no other relation to the excerptum than the
date of the year, which is also given by the
'Encyclopaedia Britannica.*

To my mind, the entry about Cabot's voyage ia
80 framed and worded as to convey the belief that
it was originally penned in 1497. If so, the
account is a forgery in one respect at least, owing
to its containing the word "America." This
designation could be read »t an early date in
books, mapp, and globes, bat not until April,
1607, wl en Waltzemiiller invented it. As to the
particulars of the invention of the name *' America,"
Humboldt was the first to dipclos^e them, and that
only fifty years ago ; so that any one writing in
the eighteenth century, for instance, may well have
believed that the New World was already called
" America " so far back as 1497.

But it is now shown that the Fust MS. purports
to have been completed '* the present yeere, 1565."
In admitting that such is rtally the case, it was
written at best sixty-eight years after Cabot's
voyage. This detracts singularly from its alleged
importance, particularly when we notice that not
only do the dubious items it sets forth stand un-
corroborattd, but that they remained entirely
unknown to Fabian and even to such inde-atijable
searchers of chronicles as John Stow and Bakluyt.

The statement that Cabot's Transatlantic dis-
covery was accomplished "on St. John the
Baptmt'b Day (June 24), 1197," appeared for the

first time in the third edition of Sebastian Cabot's
map, edited by Clement Adams in 1549 (the otoer
editions print " 1494 "). Maurice Toby, Gent.— it
he ever existed — may have borrowed the datura
from that map, but it is much more likely that it
was taken from a book which since the close of
the sixteenth century has circulated extensively in
England, viz., Haklujt'a 'Principall Navigations.'
One of the reasons for the probability is that
Haklnyt's work also affords, in nearly the same
terms, elements for the second statement in the
Fust MS., viz., "the which said ship departed
from the port of Bristowe the second day of May."
In Haklu>'t it reads as follows : " which said
shippe... departed from Bristowe in the beginning
of May." Now Hakluyt's work was not published
until 1589, and as the Fust MS. purports to have
been written in 1565, we bhould have here another
anachronism.

To change " the beginning of May " into " the
second day of May " is not a very difficult matter ;
but, as my opponents rightly observe, the Fust
MS. contains a third da^e, which cannot be so
easily explained away, viz., the alleged day of
Cabot's return to Bristol, "August 6th." This
may be a random figure, although it agrees in a
measure with Cabot's presence in London on the
10th, when Henry VII. made a present of !(•/,
'' to hym that founde the Isle." Besides, we know
from Pasqualigo that the successful navigator was
three mouths on the voyage : " Stato mexi tre sul
viazo," which synchronizes practically with the
space of time between " the beginning of May "
and " the Gth of August." What lends force to
the oVtjection is the fact that, so far as known at
present, the gratuity of 10^ and the time spent on

the voyage have been disclosed in print only
within the last sixty yeara. The mysterions
"Maurice Toby, Gent.," cannot therefore have
borrowed the latter item of information from
Rawdon Brown's 'Calendars.' To this, I frankly
confesp, I have nothing to say just now, except
that the possibility of accouutint^ for the statement
does not seem to be altogether beyond the reach of
ultimate investigations.

As to the date of 24 June for the landfall, it is,
in itself, highly improbable, conHidering that it
does not leave time enough for what may be fairly
assumed to have been done by Cabot before
returning home, Mr. Prowse and Mr. Wkare's
objections to the contrary notwithstanding. They
are unwilling to admit that after having been
tossed on the waves during fifty-three days the
small crew required a little rest, the diminutive
craft some repairs, and the larder additional
provisions (which could be obtained only by
jaunting and Siilting game on shore). My contra-
dictors say that " fifty-three days out from Bristol
to Newfoundland, and forty-two days home, would
not be a record-breaking passage even for those
days." Certainly not ; but this curious reasoning
implies that Oabot must have set sail homeward on
the very day when he first sighted the American
continent, which is hard to believe. Meanwhile,
what becomes of the 300 leagues to and fro,
amounting to 600, which Cabot coasted in the new
land : *' Andato per la costa lige 300," as he
related to Pasqualigo, and as corroborated by
Soncino, who saw the description of the newly-
found country marked in a chart and on a solid
globe which Oabot had made : ** in una carta, et
&uohe in una sphera solida che lui ha fatto et

demostra dove ^ capito " ? Mr. Phowsr and Mr.
Wkark should not have omitted to explain the
nautical phenomenon which their argument
involves.

At all events, my objections have been tacitly
endorsed by the Royal Society of Canada, which,
in the brass tablet it caused to be placed in the
Legislative Hall at Halifax, does not say that the
discovery was accomplished ''June 24, on Sr.
John the Baptist's Day,'' and that " Cr»pe Breton
Island," or even " Bonavista Buy," was the land-
fall. The inscription only, and wisely, states that
the fliigs of England and Venice were first planted
in the New World by John Cabot, '' in the June
of 1497, on the north-eastern seaboard of North
America." So much for Mk. Pr(jwsk and Mr.
Weake's asseverations in that respect.

If we now examine the extrinsic character of the
Fust chronicle, we notice certain particulars alec
worthy of attention. Neither the original MS.
nor a complete copy of it can be found anywhere.
Critics consequently are deprived of the most
precious means of information ; for, if spurious,
the MS. could not resist the close scrutiny of
paloeo^jraphers, while its substance would cer-
tainly afford materials to exercise the acumen of
historians. As the matter stands, they have only
to work upon a few extracts made by a book-
seller's assistant after 1845.

Nor can the existence of the original MS. be
traced further back than Sir Francis Fust, who
died in 1769. In the list of members of his family
he is the only one who is mentioned as having been
a book collector, and the MS. contained his own
personal book-plate. Under the circumstances, it
rests with Mr. Weare to show that the MS. existed

between 15G5 ami the time whon Sir Francis
acquired it. Mr. Wkarb r«^pliea with the stutw-
ment that, *' the evidence of liviuj^ persons coul<l, if
necessary, bo obtained to prove that, apparentiv,
the chronicle was in a contemporary , i. «., six-
teenth century, style of writing." But are these
persona versed in pala30graphy ? Dd they not know
that the time when Sir Francis Fust live-' was the
golden ajii' in Bristol of forged documeuta in old
penmanship ?

Barrett's 'History of Bristol 'is filled with spurious
historical accounts of that d^^scription. Nay, we
know when, where, and by whom they were fabri-
cated. In the language of Mr. Charles Kent,
" whatever information Barrett wanted for his
immediate purpose was plaoKi by Chatterton,
within a few hours' time, at bia command." How
are we to distinguish the grain from the chaff, and
why should nor. the MS. quoted by Barrett for hia
brief accounf of Cabot's voyage be n'i fictitious as
the rest? There is scarcely any difference in kind
and spirit between that entry and others in
the pseudo - correspondence between the equally
spurious monk Rowley and Canynge. Take the^e,
f ;r instance : —

"1068. Tliree Brystowe Barks Sciyled to the isles
Hyberne and Scottt'land.

"" 1073. The Brystowe Menne did Trade to tho Isle?.
Haymon with Noraiannen and i3ry-*towe Menne dyd
despoyle the Londe of Wales. Twa welche Barkea
menewhyle came to Bristowe, and (iespoyled part of the
Brydtre, botte weere forsles^en and dryvon awaie.

"1231. Trade to Hyberne was begonne to boe made
bie the Brystowe Menne," &c.

Nor were those forgeries limited to Barrett's
desiderata. I must be permitted to quote again
Mr. George Price, the learned City Librarian of

Bristol, who, when referriu^^ to certain documenta
of which the local historians have made ample use,
says : —

** I have for a long time regarded these writings ad
exceedingly miachievouH, so far at least aa they refer to
Bristi)!, and deserving to be classed with the forgeries of
Chatterton, who in fact, I have no doubt, was the author
of many of them."

If such suspicion may attach to Barrett's Cabo-
tian entry, the entry in the Fust chronicle uiust
share it, for we have only to compare both to see
at a glance that they are near akin, besides being
the only sources of information for the statement.

In reply, Mr. Weare says that " Mr. Kerslake,
bookseller, of Bristol, who was a very intelligent
and painstaking antiquary, during the time, or a
portion of the time, the chronicle remained in his
possession, had also in his possession genuine and
unquestioned specimens of Chatterfon's hand-
writing." I fail to perceive the cogency of the
argument. If the Fust chronicle was " in the style
of writing of the sixteenth century," of what use
could be specimens of Ohatterton's handwriting?
I may add that the young and accomplished forger
penned a goodly number of his fabrications in a
manner to lead people to believe that the penman-
ship was contemporary with the events related,
as the Chatterton MSS. preserved in the British
Museum amply show.

I timidly ventured to suggest that all those
anachronisms and indications were calculated to
create in the mind of critical historians an impres-
sion of doubt regarding the authenticity of the
Fust and Barrett excerpta. The word " impres-
sion " has provoked the mirth of Mr. Weare, who
does not seem to know that the tirat result of every

inquiry is, generally, an " impreasion." Soiiit^-
times, however, with a certain class of authors,
that primary impression is the main object and
made to precede, so to speak, the inquiry. ^ ^

The adepts in this peculiar method of writing
history invariably preface their compilations with
touching references to the tremendous labours
which they have accomplished. At the same time,
deep regret is expressed for being unable, by lack
of space or from some other reason, to initiate the
reader into the arcana of their efforts and wonder-
ful discoveries. This confession naturally creates
an "impression" of sympathy, and is the Brst step.
They then set forth a very long list of distin-
guished persons who, at home and abroad, have
given them advice and assistance, as no single man
could possibly go through such arduous and ditiicnlt
researches unassisted. The result is an 'Mmpres-
sion" that the writer has a good heart, overflowing
with gratitude, and is incapable of appropriating
the labours of others.

This is followed by a most imposing array of
quotations and documents. The display produces
the " impression " that the work is one of uncom-
mon erudition and industry.

A goodly number of these documentary proofs
are published in Litin, Spanish, Italian, &c., with
direct references to the archives which contain
them, here and elsewhere, and even with the
rubrics, pages, files, and ret^isters ostentatiously,
if not always faithfully, cited. But as in twenty-
five cases out of forty-two the real searchers or
first editors, who have been thus plagiarized, are
not mentioned, these twenty-five documents (which
figure among the most important in the collection)
all bear the appearance of original discoveries. They

also create the "impression" that the gifted his-
torian has laboriously worked his way through the
inner recesses of the Public Record Office and of
the State archives at Mihin, Florence, Venice,
Simancas, and the Vatican, where he certainly
never set his foot.

Bug when a reader familiar with the subject
takes the trouble to look into these useless books?,
he has an ** impression" which is not always to
the credit of their authors. For instance, in one
lately published, out of forty-two documents, forty-
one have been repeatedly printed, and all together
in two or three modern publications which can be
consulted in every important library. So that
those Herculean labours would require, all told,
about half a day's work, comfortably seated in an
armchair in the British Musfum !

Happily, there is a class of historians whose
*' impressions" may be said to be of a very
different character. They are the outcome of long
studies of the original sources, regardless of time-
honoured legends and fabrications. And so far aa
the authentic history of the Cabots is concerned,
these " impressions " have not proved thus far
entirely fruitless.

Let me be permitted to ask, Where is the historian
worthy of the name who now believes that the
American continent was discovered in 1494, and
not in 1497 ; that it was Sebastian Cabot who
accomplished it, and not his father ; nay, who
would assert that he was even on board the ship ;
that the landfall was certainly Cape Breton Island,
particularly since the recent publication of the
•' Mathematical Demonstration of the Fallacy ";
that Sebastian was born in Bristol, and not in
Venice; that he was a great navigator, cartogmphir,

and scientist ; that he discovered the variation and
declination of the compass, and, by divine revela-
tion, as he pretended, or otherwise methods tor
finding the longitude at sea ; that there is the
least proof of his alleged successful exertions on
behalf of the Merchant Adventurers m their
struggle with the Steelyard ; that he had a com-
mendable share in the opening of trade with
Russia, or that the merit of the act does not belong
exclusively to Richard Ohancelor ; or, m fine, who
would now say that SebaBtian is "the author of
the maritime strength of England who opened the
way to those improvements which have rendered
the English so great, so eminent, so flourishing a
neoDle " ? So far from this encomium bemg true,
it is now proved, beyond all cavils and sophis ry,
that Sebastian Cabot was an un mitigated_chaiMan,

a liar, and a traitor ,!

-inrtTeFelippreciations were at first mere im-
pressions," and although hooted at almos when
set forth fifteen years ago, they have evolved t j
matters of strong belief with our most competent
adepts in maritime history. The probability is
that the other points mooted, but existing as yet
only as " impreHsious," will also be solved to the
Batisfaction of every conscientious hist^ri^n.

Henry Haurissb.

Paris.

PRINTED BY JOHN EDWAllD FRAT^CIS,
ATHKN.EUM PllKSS.