meane season with the Kinge of Spaine, and was entred into the action for him, was not a little vexed for his brothers abusinge the Kinge of England, which had so curteously graunted all his requestes and accepted of his offer. But Christofer, not receavinge so spedy aunswer as he hoped for from his brother oute of England, by reason of his fallinge into pirates handes, as is aforesaide, and not by reason of any slacknes or unwillingnes of the Kinge, in the meane season, for feare of beinge prevented by the Portingales, which once before in secrete manner had gon aboute to take the honour of the action oute of his handes, was stirred, contrary to honesty, to playe on bothe handes, and to deale with the Princes of Spaine before he had receaved the Kinge of Englandes resolucion.

But leavinge this abuse offered to the Kinge of England either by Christopher Columbus or the Kinges of Spaine, in takinge that enterprise oute of his handes which was firste sente to him, and never refused by him, and to put the case that Columbus firste discovered part of the ilandes of Hispaniola and Cuba, yet wee will prove moste plainely, that a very greate and large parte, as well of the continent as of the ilandes, was firste discovered for the Kinge of England by Sebastian Gabote, an Englishe man, borne in Bristoll, the sonne of John Gabote, a Venesian, in the yere of our Lorde 1496; as an Italian gent, a greate philosopher and mathematitian, witnesseth, which harde the same of his owne mouthe; and there were many then also lyvinge, which wente with him in that voyadge, which coulde have proved him a liar yf it had bene otherwise. These be the very wordes of this gent, which he uttered to certen noblemen of Venice upon the disputation concerninge the voyadges of the spicerye : Knowe ye not (quoth he) to this effecte, to goe to finde the Easte Indies by the north west, that which one of your citie hath done, which is so skilfull in the arte of navigacion and cosmographie, that he hath not his like in Spaine at this day? And his sufficiencie hath so greately advaunced him, that the Kinge hath given him the oversighte of all the pilotts that saile to the West Indies, so that withoute his licence they cannot meddle in this arte, by reason whereof they call him the Graund Pilott. This was Segnior Sebastian Gabote, which I went to see, beinge myselfe in Cyvill certen yeres paste, whome I founde to be a moste curteous and gentle person. After he had made very moche of me, and geven me goodd entertainment, he shewed me many singularities which he had; and *The quotation continues to the bottom of the next page.

*

amonge the rest, a greate mappe of the worlde, wherein were marked and described all the particuler navigations as well of the Portingales as of the Castilians. And he declared unto me, that, his father beinge departed from Venyce, he wente to dwell in England for trade of marchandize, and caried him with him to the citie of London, thoughe he were very younge; yet for all that not so younge but that he had studied [letters] of humanitie and the sphere; moreover, that his father died aboute the tyme that the newes came that Christopher Colon had discovered the coaste of the West Indies, and there was no other talke but of that in the Courte of Kinge Henry the vijth which reigned then in England. Whereof every man saied, that yt was rather a thinge devine then humaine, to have founde out that way never knowen before, to goe by the west into the easte. This brute of Segnior Columbus did so inflame my harte, that I determyned also to doe some notable thinge. And knowinge by the reason of the sphere, that, in directinge my course righte towarde the north weste, I should shorten the way greately to goe to the Easte Indies, without delaye I gave the Kinges Majestie to understande of myne opinion, which was marveylously well pleased; and he furnished me of twoo shippes, with all thinges necessarie; and this was in the yere 1496. in the begynnynge of somer. And I began to saile towardes the north west, thinckinge to finde no lande savinge that where Cathaio is, and from thence to turne towardes the Indies. But after certaine daies, I discoured lande which ronneth towardes the northe, wherewithall I was excedingly agreved; notwithstandinge I ceassed not to ronne alonge that coaste towardes the northe, to see yf I coulde finde any gulfe which turned towardes the north weste, until I came to the heighte of 56. degrees of our pole. Beinge there, I sawe that the coaste turned towarde the easte, and beinge oute of hope to finde any straite, I turned backe againe to searche out the said coaste towarde the equinoctiall, with intention alwayes to finde some passage to the Indies; and in followinge this coaste I sailed as farr as that parte which at this present they call Florida; and nowe my victualls failinge and fallinge shorte, I sailed no further, but lefte the coaste there and sailed into England, where I was no sooner arryved but I founde greate troubles of the people, that were upp in armes by reason of the warres in Scotland; whereby the voyadge to those partes was laide aside for that time, and had in no further consideration.

Upon this relation, Monsieur Popiliniere, beinge a Frencheman, in his seconde booke, Des Trois Mondes, inferreth these speaches: This, then, was that Gabote which firste discovered Florida for the Kinge of England, so that the Englishe men have more righte thereunto then the Spaniardes, yf, to have righte unto a contrie, it sufficeth to have firste seene and discovered the same.

Howbeit, Gabota did more then see the contrie, for he wente on lande on divers places, tooke possession of the same accordinge to his patente, which was graunted to his father, John Gabot, to Lewes, himself, and Sancius, his brethren, beinge to be sene in the Rolles and extant in printe; and, moreover, he broughte home three of the savages of the Indies, as Fabian, in his ancient Chronicle, dothe write, declaringe their apparell, feedinge, and other manners, which, he saieth, he observed himselfe in the Courte at Westminster, where he sawe twoo of them, twoo yeres after they were broughte into England, in Englishe apparell. Nay, that which is more, Gabota discovered this longe tracte of the firme lande twoo yeres before Columbus ever sawe any parte of the continente thereof. For the firste parte of the firme lande, called Paria, and Bocca di Dragone, that is to say, the Dragons Mouthe, beinge to the southe of the iland of Hispaniola, was discovered by him in his thirde voyadge; which, as Peter Martir de Angleria, which was one of the councell of the West Indies, wryteth, was in the yere 1498; which is confirmed by Ferdinandus Columbus, his owne sonne, which was with his father in the voyadge (as Oviedo confesseth, libr. 19. cap. 1.), and wrote a journall of that voyadge, shewinge, in the 67. chapiter of his historie, that his father firste sawe the firme lande the firste of Auguste in the yere 1498. But Gabote made his greate discoverie in the yere 1496. as he testifieth in his relation above mentioned. And the day of the moneth is also added in his owne mappe, which is yn the Queenes privie gallorie at Westminster, the copye whereof was sett oute by Mr. Clemente Adams, and is in many marchantes houses in London. In which mappe, in the chapiter of Newfoundelande, there in Latyn is put downe, besides the yere of our Lorde, even the very day, which was the day of St. John Baptiste; and the firste lande which they sawe they called Prima Visa or Prima Vista; and Mr. Roberte Thorne, in his discourse to Doctor Ley, Kinge Henry the Eights embassador to Charles the Emperour, affirmeth that his father and one Hughe Elliott, of Bristoll, were

the firste persons that descried the lande. This case is so clere that the Spaniardes themselves, thoughe full sore againste their willes, are constrained to yielde unto us therein. For Franciscus Lopez de Gomera, in the 4. chapiter of his seconde booke of his Generall Historie of the Indies, confesseth that Sebastian was the firste discoverer of all the coaste of the West Indies, from 58. degrees of northerly latitude to the heighte of 38. degrees towardes the equinoctiall. He whiche broughte moste certeine newes of the contrie and people of Baccalaos, saieth Gomera, was Sebastian Gabot, a Venesian, which rigged up ij. shippes at the coste of Kinge Henry the Seaventh of England, havinge greate desire to traficque for the spices as the Portingales did. He carried with him CCC. men, and tooke the way towardes Island from beyonde the Cape of Labrador, untill he founde himselfe in 58. degrees and better. He made relation that, in the moneth of July, it was so colde and the ise so greate, that he durste not passe any further; that the daies were very longe, in a manner withoute any nighte, and for that shorte nighte that they had it was very clere. Gabot, feelinge the colde, turned towardes the west, refreshinge himselfe at Baccalaos; and afterwardes he sailed alonge the coaste unto 38 degrees, and from thence he shaped his course to returne into England.

Moreover, this Fraunces Lopez de Gomera acknowledgeth, in his firste booke and xxjth chapiter of his Generall Historie of the Indies, that Columbus, on his thirde voyadge, sett oute from St. Lucar of Barameda, in Spaine, in the ende of May, anno 1497. In which thirde voyadge, at lengthe, after many greate dangers by the way, he arryved in the firme lande of the Indies, towardes the province called Paria, which all the Spanishe authors confesse to have bene the firste of the continent that was discovered for the Kinges of Spaine.

So to conclude; whether wee beleve the testimonie of Peter Martir and Ferdinandus Columbus, which affirme that Christopher Columbus discovered the firme firste in anno 1498. a greate and large tracte of the continente of the Indies was discovered by Gabot and the Englishe above twoo yeres before, to witt, in the yere 1496, in the moneths of June and July; or whether wee be contente to yelde to Gomera, which saieth Columbus sett furthe of the discovery of the firme lande, 1497; yet wee of England are the firste discoverers of the continent above a yere and more before them, to witt, 1496. or, as

Clement Adams saieth, 1494. in the chapiter of Gabotts mapp De terra nova, which is above three yeres before the Spaniarde, or any other for the Kinges of Spaine, had any sighte of any parte of the firme lande of the Indies. At leaste wise, by Gomera his owne confession, from 58. degrees of northerly latitude to 38. towardes the equinoctiall, we have beste righte and title of any Christian. As for the discovery of John Ponce of Leon, beinge in anno 1512. yt cannot be prejudiciall to our title, as beinge made sixtene yeres after Gabotes voyadge.

A brefe collection of certaine reasons to induce her Majestie and the state to take in hande the westerne voyadge and the plantinge there.- Chapter XX. of Hakluyt's Discourse.

I. The soyle yeldeth, and may be made to yelde, all the severall comodities of Europe, and of all kingdomes, domynions, and territories that England tradeth withe, that by trade of marchandize cometh into this realme.

2. The passage thither and home is neither to longe nor to shorte, but easie, and to be made twise in the yere.

3. The passage cutteth not nere the trade of any prince, nor nere any of their contries or territories, and is a safe passage, and not easie to be annoyed by prince or potentate what

soever.

4. The passage is to be perfourmed at all times of the yere, and in that respecte passeth our trades in the Levant Seas within the Straites of Juberalter, and the trades in the seas within the Kinge of Denmarkes Straite, and the trades to the portes of Norwey and of Russia, &c.; for as in the south weste Straite there is no passage in somer by lacke of windes, so within the other places there is no passage in winter by yse and extreme colde.

5. And where England nowe for certen hundreth yeres last passed, by the peculiar comoditie of wolles, and of later yeres by clothinge of the same, hath raised it selfe from meaner state to greater wealthe and moche higher honour, mighte, and power then before, to the equallinge of the princes of the same to the greatest potentates of this parte of the worlde; it cometh nowe so to passe, that by the greate endevour of the increase of the trade of wolles in Spaine and in the West Indies, nowe daily more and more multiplienge, that the wolles of England, and the clothe made of the same, will become base, and every day more