Volume 1

A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore].

  • John Hamilton Moore
Date:
[1785?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/684 page 3
    Fernandina. Ifabella. Cuba. Hifpaniola. The firft Spa nifh colony ii the Weft In* •dies. Golfo de Fie chas. former, where the women wore fliort coats of cotton, reaching from their navels to the mid-thigh, which was the whole of their drefs. To this the admiral gave the name of Fernandina ; and departing from thence, difcovered another, which he called Ifabella; thefe two latter appellations being given in honour of the king and queen of Spain. And he fet fail as foon as he had learned its produ£t and the manners of the people, not chufing to fpend any more time amongft lllands which he found fo nearly fimilar to each other. The fleet next proceeded to Cuba, where the Spaniards expected to get farther intelligence con¬ cerning the gold which was the principal object' of their fearch. Two Chriftians were fent with two Indians, the one from St. Salvador, and the other from that country, to fearch, the ifland. On their return they reported that they had feen a town con- fifting of about fifty houfes, where they were well treated, the new guefts being reverenced as deities by the people. Here they faw cotton growing, as alfo many Arrange birds and trees, and an animal refem- bling a dog, but which could not bark. The Indians being questioned whether they had any gold or pearls in their country, made figns that plenty of thofe commodities was to be found in a place called Bohio, and Columbus following their directions as well as he could underftand them, having feized twelve of the natives, to carry them with them to Spain, fteered eaftward till he reached the ifland which is now called Hifpaniola, from the Spanilh appellation of Efpag- nola, given it by the admiral. This ifland is about fixteen leagues diflant from Cuba, the firft port of which Columbus called St. Nicholas, becaufe he anchored there on the feftival of that faint. Here he took a young woman, whom they treated well, and who proved very ferviceable to them afterwards, and the natives having a high opinion of the Spaniards, who had hitherto treated them well, the new comers Hill found themfelves honoured and refpedted wherever they came A principal cacique, called Guacanagari, conceived a ltrong affedtion for his new guefts, which he difplayed on feveral occafions, efpecially by ordering all pof- fible affiftance to be given to Columbus when fome of his mariners through ignorance had run one of the caravels upon the flats. Another veflel, which was commanded by Alonfo Pinfon, had left him while at Cuba, and gone in fearch of Hifpaniola be¬ fore him, underftanding that there was gold to be found there, the greateft fihare of which he thought to fecure to himfelf by this proceeding. Neverthelefs the admiral, when he met him afterwards at fea, did not hold it prudent to take notice of what had pafled, but chofe to accept excufes which he could not be¬ lieve, rather than to enter into any altercation with him upon the fubjedh In the mean while both parties had carried on a gainful traffic, receiving gold and other things of value in exchange for glafs beads and fuch fort of toys, with which thefe people were par¬ ticularly delighted. As the iflanders had expreffed great fears of the neighbouring Caribbees, whom they reprefented as fierce cannibals7, the Spaniards formed a good excufe for building a fort in their country, which was gar- rifoned with 38 foldiers, who were left there by way ' of protefting them againft the invafions of thefe fa- 1 vages ; and thus this firfl: colony was planted at the port which they called the Nativity, becaufe they had firfl: landed there on Chriftmas day. On Friday, the 4th of January, the admiral fet fail from the ifland, and being joined by the Pinta, proceeded to fome other capes and harbours, and among the reft, being near the place called the Lo¬ ver’s Cape, he met with fome fierce Indians, with whom his men had a fkirmifti, which.terminated to the advantage of the Europeans, whofe weapons could' not be refilled by a people armed only with qlubs and bows and arrows, and ignorant of the ufe of iron. To this place they gave the name of Golfo de Flechas, or the gulf of arrows, but the Indians called 1.49: From hence Columbus departed on the 16th day of the fame month, fetting fail for Spain, but before v-v— he could reach the Azores was overtaken by a violent ftorm, in which, on the 24th of February, the cara¬ vel Pinta was feparated from the admiral, whofe men began again to murmur, provilion falling Abort, and his veflel being fcarcely able to weather the tempeft which a few days afterwards drove him to St. Mary’s, T!ie ^ one of the Azores, where he caft anchor, on the lands at 18th, after having fuffered as much by difeafe as by Azores, the violence of the ftorm, during the continuance of which he had thrown his papers over board, in order that the account of his difeoveries might not be loft though the veflel which carried him might have foundered. The admiral and his men remembering that they had made a vow in their diftrefs to go bare¬ footed in their fhirts to fome church dedicated to the blefled virgin, at the firfl: land they made, were all refolved to perform it at this ifland. To this they were yet more induced by the friendly profeffions of the people who were fubjects to a prince in alliance with the king of Caftile. Half the fhip’s crew em¬ barking in one of the boats for this purpofe, had but juft landed, when the governor attended by a num¬ ber of people, who had lain in ambufti for that pur¬ pofe, rufhed out upon them, and, contrary to honour and the laws of nations, feized and made them pri- His peo; foners, taking care alfo to fecure the boat to prevent feized at the poffibility of their return. But the admiral Mary’s, brought his fhip round to a point from whence the church might be difeerned to which the Spaniards had intended to make their proceffion. Here he came to an anchor, and demanded his men and boat, which were refufed him ; but as he perfevered in his refolution, and, though forced out to fea by the wind, returned, ufing threats as well as perfuafions, he at laft obtained them, with many affurances of friend- ftiip from thofe diffemblers, on his producing their catholic majefties commiffion. From hence he failed on the 24th day of February, and was foon after overtaken by another ftorm as dreadful as the former, on which account the Spaniards made a fecond vow, in cafe of being delivered, to fend one of their people on pilgrimage to our Lady de Cinta, at Guelva, and the lot fell upon the admiral. In the end they were forced upon the rock of LHbon,1 and he found himfelf obliged to put in at that port, where the Portuguefe much admired at the preferva- tion of his veflel from the fury of the fighting ele¬ ments. Here the captain of a guard-fhip interrogated him very clofely, but at laft was fatisfied with feeing the letter which he brought from the king and queen of Caftile, to whom he had immediately difpatched an exprefs, giving an account of what had happened fince his departure from Palos. In the mean time the king of Portugal fent for the admiral, and obferved, that having been formerly in his employ, the difeo¬ veries newly made belonged of right to him. Co¬ lumbus anfwering that he knew of no fuch agree¬ ment, the king faid he doubted not but juftice would be done, and fo the matter dropped; and the admiral was afterwards moft courteoufly entertained, and had the offer of being fafely conveyed over land to Spain, which however he chofe to decline. Setting fail from Lifbon on Wednefday the 13th of March, he arrived on the Friday following, at the Port of Palos, from whence, as the reader may remember, he had departed Arrives on the 23d of Auguft in the foregoing year. Palos. Thus did Columbus accomplifti his firfl: voyage, lay the foundation of the Spanifh empire in the Weft Indies, and mark out a way for the difeovery of that New World, to which he had not even the honour - of giving a name. Marked out as he was by provi¬ dence and nature for a perfevering and much enduring he had fcarce arrived in Spain before he perceived man. the firfl: appearance of that malice which afterwards purfued him for a fucceffion of years, and contributed to render uneafy the life which he was fo willing to fpend in promoting the honour and advantageof a proud and thanklefs nation.
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