In the illustrious year of 1498, which witnessed Sebastian Cabot’s westward1 discoveries along North America, and Columbus’s sighting of South America, Vasco da Gama, pursuing his eastward3 navigations, crossed the Indian Ocean, dropped anchor off the city of Calicut, on the Malagar coast, and set up on shore a marble pillar as proof of his discovery of India by an ocean highway. Thus Portugal offset4 Spain’s claim to the West Indies by priority of discovery, with a claim through first discovery to the East Indies, and stood ready to assert it, while England allowed her right, by the same token, in the North American continent to lapse5.
Spain and Portugal continued in sharp rivalry6 during the half decade immediately following. In 1499 the coast of South America was touched at about Surinam by the Spaniard Alonzo de Ojeda and the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci, sailing for Spain. The same year the coast of Brazil was discovered by a Portuguese7 navigator, Vincente Yarez Pinzon. He had been a companion of Columbus. The next year possession of Brazil was taken for the crown of Portugal by Pedro 91Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese commander, who was driven to its coast by adverse8 winds when making a voyage to India by Vasco da Gama’s course. Three years later a settlement was begun there by Amerigo Vespucci, now in the service of Portugal. In 1500 Gaspar de Cortereal, Portuguese, attempted to follow the Cabots’ track of discovery opened in the northwest. Coming upon the coast of Labrador he explored it for six hundred miles. He discovered Nova Scotia, the St. Lawrence, and also Hudson’s Strait. Then he returned to Lisbon with his two caravals freighted with natives—men, women, and children—whom he had captured and brought home for slavery. The next year Cortereal departed on a second voyage for further discovery and presumably more slaves, and was never more heard from. His brother, Michael de Cortereal, sailed in search of him, and also was lost. Then two armed ships were sent out by the king of Portugal to search for both brothers; but no trace of either could be found. It was finally assumed that both fell victims to the vengeance9 of the natives for the thefts of their people. Upon the strength of Gaspar de Cortereal’s voyages Portugal attempted to establish a claim to the discovery of Newfoundland and the adjacent coast of North America. But in this she was not successful. Spain, however, held firmly to all of her American possessions, indefinitely defined.
England remained passive till 1501, when a new movement was started in the Cabots’ home city of Bristol. Three Bristol merchants—Richard Ward2, 92Thomas Ashehurst, and John Thomas—and three Portuguese mariners10—John Fernandus, Francis Fernandus, and John Gundlur—came together for a venture in the track of the Cabots. A patent was obtained from King Henry, under date of March 19, 1501, which conferred upon them the same powers that had originally been given the Cabots, and was in terms similar to the Cabot patents. Whether they sent out an expedition that year is not known. The next year, however, the personnel of the company had changed, with the dropping of Ward and Thomas and the substitution of Hugh Eliot in their place; and under this organization, probably in 1503, a voyage was made which resulted in discovery at Newfoundland and along the Labrador coast. The only record of this voyage is given by Hakluyt in the following excerpt11 from the merchant Robert Thorne’s “Booke” of 1527, addressed to the English Ambassador at the court of Spain:
"A briefe extract concerning the discoverie of Newfound-land taken out of the booke of M. Robert Thorne, to Doctor Leigh &c.
“I reason that as some sickenesses are hereditarie, so this inclination12 or desire of this discovery I inherited from my father, which with another marchant of Bristol named Hugh Eliot, were the discoverers of the Newfound-lands; of the which there is no doubt (as nowe plainely appeareth) if the Mariners would then have bene ruled, and followed their Pilots minde, 93but the lands of the West Indies, from whence all the golde commeth, had bene ours; for all is one coast as the Card appeareth, and is aforesaid.”
The “card” here referred to was a rude map of the world on which, along the line of the coast of Labrador, was written the inscription13 in Latin, “This land was first discovered by the English.” A short time after this voyage the fisheries about Newfoundland had become well known to Frenchmen, and were being frequented by the hardy14 fishermen of Brittany and Normandy. Hence the later name of the isle15 of Cape16 Breton.
No further patents for English navigations were issued for more than half a century. Still English interest in maritime17 discovery and commercial advancement18 was not altogether stagnant19 during this period. Early in Henry the eighth’s reign20 quite a promising21 enterprise was set on foot by Sebastian Cabot, then back in England, and in high standing22 for his knowledge in cosmography. He had been in Spain for seven years (having entered Spain’s service three years after the death of Henry the seventh, which occurred in 1509), acting23 part of that time as one of the council of the Indies, and latterly completing plans for a new expedition for the search of the Northwest passage under the Spanish flag, which he had been compelled to abandon by Ferdinand’s death, in 1516. Returned to England he had found Henry the eighth hospitable24 to his scheme and had induced him to fit out a small squadron for its pursuit. The supreme25 command, 94however, was given to another,—Sir Thomas Pert, at that time vice-admiral of England,—and this proved disastrous26 to the enterprise; for, it is recorded, Sir Thomas’s “faint heart was the cause that the voyage took none effect.” All that the expedition accomplished27 was a visit to the coast of Brazil, to San Domingo, and to Porto Rico, whence it returned to England. Hakluyt gives a narration28 which he supposes to relate to this voyage, written by the Spanish historian Gonzalo de Oviedo, and reprinted by Ramusio, from whom he translates it:
“In the yeere 1517 an English Rover under the colour of travelling to discover, came with a great shippe unto the parts of Brasill on the coast of the firme land, and from thence he crossed over unto this Iland of Hispaneola, and arrived neere unto the mouth of the haven29 of this citie of S. Domingo, and sent his shipboate full of men on shoare and demaunded leave to enter into this haven, saying that hee came with marchandise to traffique. But at that very instant the governour of the castle, Francis de Tapia, caused a tire of ordinance30 to be shot from the castle at the ship, for she bare in directly with the haven. When the Englishmen sawe this, they withdrew themselves out, and those that were in the shipboate got themselves with all speede on shipboord. And in trueth the warden31 of the castle committed an oversight32: for if the shippe had entred into the haven the men thereof could not have come on lande without leave both of the citie and of the castle. Therefore the people of the 95ship seeing how they were received sayled toward the Iland of S. John, and entring into the port of S. Germaine, the English men parled [parleyed] with those of the towne, requiring victuals33 and things needefull to furnish their ship, and complained of the inhabitants of the city of S. Domingo saying that they came not to doe any harme but to trade and traffique for their money and merchandise. In this place they had certaine victuals and for recompense they gave and paid them with certaine vessell of wrought34 tinne and other things. And afterward35 they departed toward Europe....”
KING HENRY VIII.
From a photograph, copyrighted by Walker and Boutall, of a painting.
Hakluyt resents Oviedo’s use of the term “Rover” in this account and his assumption that the object of the expedition was other than discovery and traffic, remarking tartly36 that Spanish and Portuguese writers “account all other nations for Pirates, rovers, and thieves who visit any heathen coast that they have once sailed by or looked on.”
With the failure of this enterprise Cabot again left England and re?ntered the service of Spain, taking the post of “pilot major.”
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1
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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2
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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3
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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4
offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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5
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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6
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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7
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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8
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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9
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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10
mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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11
excerpt
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| n.摘录，选录，节录 | |
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12
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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13
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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14
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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15
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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16
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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17
maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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18
advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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19
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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20
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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21
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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22
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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23
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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24
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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25
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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26
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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27
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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28
narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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29
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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30
ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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31
warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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32
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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33
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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34
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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35
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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36
tartly
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| adv.辛辣地，刻薄地 | |
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