Divers voyages touching the discouerie of America/Chapter 10
.png){kind=small}
Notes framed by a Gentleman
heretofore to bee giuen to one that
prepared for a discouerie, and went not: And not
vnfitt to be committed to print, considering the same
may stirre vp considerations of these and of such
other thinges, not vnmeete in such new
voyages as may be attempted
hereafter.
Hat the first Seate be chosen on y͏ͤ seaside so as (if it may be) you may haue your owne Nauie within Bay, riuer or lake, within your seat safe from the enemie. And so as the enemie shalbe forced to lie in opẽ rode abroade without, to be dispersed with all windes and tempests that shall arise. Thus seated you shall bee least subiecte to annoy of the enemie, so may you by your Nauie within, passe out to all partes of the worlde, and so may the shippes of Englande haue accesse to you to supply all wantes, so may your commodities ba caried away also. This seate is to bee chosen in temperate Climat, in sweete ayre, where you may possesse alwayes sweete water, wood, seacoles, or turfe, with fish, flesh, grayne, fruits, herbes and rootes, or so many of those, as may suffice very necessitie for the life of such as shall plant there. And for the possessing of mines of golde, of siluer, copper, quicksiluer, or of any suche precious thing, the wantes of diuers of those needfull thinges may be supplied from some other place by sea, & c.
| Stone to make Lyme of. | are to be looked for as thinges without which no Citie may bee made nor people in ciuill sorte be kept together. | |
| Slate stone to tile withall or such clay as maketh tyle, | ||
| Stone to wall withal if Brycke may not bee made, | ||
| Timber for building easely to be conueied to the place, | ||
| Reede to couer houses or such like, of tile slate be not. |
The people there to plant and to continue are eyther to liue without trafficke, or by trafficke and by trade of marchandize. If they shall liue without sea trafficke, at the first they become naked by want of linen and wollen, and very miserable by infinite wantes that will otherwise ensue, and so will they be forced of them selues to depart, or els easely they will bee consumed by the Sp. by the Fr. or by the naturall inhabithantes of the countrey, and so the interprice becomes reprochfull to our nation, and a lett to many other good purposes that may be taken in hande.
And by trade of marchandize they can not liue, excepte the sea or the lande there may yeelde commoditie for commoditie. And therefore you ought to haue most speciall regarde of that point, and so to plant, that the naturall commodities of the place and seate, may drawe to you accesse of Nauigation for the same, or that by our owne Nauigation you may carie the same out, and fetche home the supplye of the wantes of the seate.
Such nauigation so to bee employed, shall besides the supply of wantes, bee able to encounter with forreyne force.
And for that in the ample vente of suche thinges as are brought to you out of engl. by sea, standeth a matter of great consequence, it behoueth that all humanitie and curtesie and much forbearing or reuenge to the inland people be vsed, so shall you haue firme amitie with your neyghbours, so shall you haue their inland commodities to maintayne trafficke, & so shall you waxe rich and strong in force. Diuers & seuerall commodities of the inland are not in great plentie to be brought to your handes, without the ayde of some portable or Nauigable ryuer, or ample lacke, and therefore to haue the helpe of suche a one is most requisite: And so is it of effecte for the dispersing of your owne commodities in exchange into the inlandes.
Nothing is more to be indeuoured with the Inland people then familiaritie. For so may you best discouer al the naturall commodities of their countrey, and also all their wantes, all their strengthes, all their weaknesse, and with whome they are in warre, and with whome considerate in peace and amitie, &c. whiche knowen, you may woorke many great effectes of greatest consequence.
And in your planting the consideration of the climate and of the soyle bee matters that are to bee respected. For if it be so that you may let in the salt sea water, not mixed with the fresh into flattes, where the sunne is of the heate that it is at Rochell, in the Bay of portingall, or in Spaine, then may you procure a man of skill, and so you haue wonne one noble commoditie for the fishing, and for trade of marchandize by making of Salt.
Or if the soyle and clymate bee such as may yeelde you the Grape as good as that at Burdeus, as that in Portingale, or as that about Siui in Spaine, or that in the Ilands of the Canaries, then there resteth but a woorkeman to put in execution to make wines, and to dresse Resings of the sunne and other, &c.
Or if you finde a soyle of the temperature of the South part of Spaine or Barbarie, in whiche you finde the Olif tree to growe: Then you may bee assured of a noble marchandize for this realme, considering that our great trade of clothing doth require oyle, and weying howe deere of late it is become by the vent they haue of that commoditie in the West Indies, and if you finde the wilde olif there it may be graffed.
Or if you can finde the berrie of Cochenile with whiche wee colour Stammelles, or any Roote, Berrie, Fruite, wood or earth fitte for dying, you winne a notable thing fitt for our state of clothing. This Cochenile is naturall in the west Indies in that firme.
Or if you haue hides of beastes fit for sole Lether, & c. It wilbe a marchandize right good, and the sauages there yet can not tanne Lether after our kinde, yet excellently after their owne maner.
Or if the soyle shall yeelde Figges, Almondes, Sugar Canes, Quinces, Orenges, Lemons, Potatos, & c. there may arise some trade and trafficke, by figges, almonds, sugar, marmelade, Sucket & c.
Or if great woods bee founde, if they be of Cypres, chests may bee made, if they bee of some kinde of trees, pitche and tarre may be made, if they bee of some other then they may yeelde Rosin, Turpentine, & c. and al for trade and trafficke, and Caskes for wine and oyle may be made: likewise ships and houses, & c.
And because trafficke is a thing so materiall, I wish that great obseruation be taken what euery soyle yeeldeth naturally, in what commoditie soeuer, and what it may be made to yeeld by indeuour, and to send vs notice home, that therevppon wee may deuise what meanes may be thought of to rayse trades.
Nowe admit that we might not be suffered by the sauages to enioy any whole countrey or any more thẽ the scope of a Citie, yet if wee might enioy trafficke and be assured of the same, wee might bee much inriched, our Nauie might be increased, & a place of safetie might there be found, if change of religion or ciuill warres shoulde happen in this realme, which are thinges of great benefite. But if we may inioy any large Territorie of apt soyle, we might so vse the matter, as we should not depende vpon Spaine for oyles, sacks, resinges, orenges, lemons, Spanish skinnes, & c. Nor vppon Fraunce for woad, baysalt, and gascoyne wines, nor on Estlande for flaxe, pitch, tarre, mastes, & c. So we shoulde not so exhaust our treasure, and so exceedingly inriche our doubtfull friendes, as we doe, but shoulde purchasse the commodities that we want for halfe the treasure that now we do: but should by our own industries & the benefits of the soile there cheapely purches oyles, wines, salt, fruits, pitch, tarre, flaxe, hempe, mastes, boordes, fishe, gold, siluer, copper, tallowe, hides and many commodities: besides if there be no flatts to make salt on, if you haue plentie of wood you may make it in sufficient quantitie for common vses at home there.
If you can keepe a safe hauen, although you haue not the friendship of the neere neyghbours, yet you may haue trafficke by sea vpon one shore or other, vpon that firme in time to come, if not present.
If you finde great plenty of tymber on the shore side or vpon any portable riuer, you were best to cut downe of the same the first wynter, to bee seasoned for shippes, barkes, botes and houses.
And if neere such wood there be any riuer or brooke vpon the which a sawing mill may be placed, it woulde doe great seruice, and therefore consideration woulde bee had of suche place.
And if such port & chosẽ place of setling were in possessiõ & after fortified by art, although by y͏ͤ land side our Englishmẽ were kept in, and might not inioy any traffick with the next neighbours, nor any vittel: yet might they vittel themselues of fishe to serue verie necessitie, and enter into amitie with the enemies of their next neighbours, & so haue vent of their marchandize of England and also haue vittel, or by meanes herevpon to be vsed to force the next neighbours to amitie. And keeping a nauie at the setling place, they shoulde finde out along the tracte of the lande to haue trafficke, and at diuers Ilandes also. Ans so this first seate might in time become a stapling place of the commodities of many countreys and territories, and in tyme this place myght become of all the prouinces round about the only gouernour. And if the place first chosẽ should not so wel please our people, as some other more lately founde out: There might bee an easie remoue, and that might be rased, or rather kept for others of our nation to auoyde an ill neyghbour, & c.
If the soyles adioyning to such conuenient hauen and setling places be founde marshie and boggie, then men skilful in draining are to be caried thither. For arte may worke wonderfull effectes therein, and make the soyle rich for many vses.
To plante vppon an Ilande in the mouth of some notable riuer, or vpon the poynt of the lande entring into the riuer, if no such Iland be, were to great ende. For if such riuer were nauigable or portable farre into the lande, then would arise great hope of planting in fertill soyles, and trafficke on the one or on the other side of the riuer, or on both, or the linking in amitie with one or other petie king contẽding there for dominion.
Such riuers founde, both barges and boates may bee made for the safe passage of such as shal perce y͏ͤ same. These to bee couered with doubles of course linnen artificially wrought, to defend the arrow or the dart of the sauage from the rower.
Since euery soyle of the world by arte may be made to yeelde things to feede and to cloth man, bring in your returne a perfect note of the soyle without and within, and we shall deuise if neede require to amende the same, & to draw it to more perfectiõ. And if you finde not fruits in your planting place to your liking, we shal in v. drifats furnish you wͭ such kinds of plants to be caried thither y͏ͤ winter after your planting, as shall the very next summer folowing, yeeld you some fruite, and the yere next folowing, as much as shal suffice a towne as big as Callice, and that shortly after shall be able to yeeld you great store of strong durable good sider to drinke, & these trees shalbe able to increase you within lesse then vii. yeres as many trees presently to beare, as may suffice the people of diuers parishes, which at the first setling may stand you in great steade, if the soyle haue not the commoditie of fruites of goodnesse already. And because you ought greedily to hunt after thinges that yeelde present reliefe, without trouble of cariage thither, therefore I make mention of these, thus specially, to the ende you may haue it specially in mynde.
FINIS.