صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

belonging to Prester John, or the emperor of Ethiopia, which was now first discovered by sea. At this time it was a vast monarchy, and extended along the shores of the Red Sea above a hundred and twenty leagues, which was counted the least of its sides; but since then all the sea-coast has been taken from them by the Turks. Here the Portuguese in following years made some progress into the country, five hundred of them being sent under the command of D. Christopher' de Gama to assist the emperor against his rebellious subjects, and his enemies the Turks. The actions performed by this handful of men being all by land, do not belong to us; but they travelled a great part of the country, and opened a way for the Jesuits, who for several years after continued there.

An. 1521. Antony de Brito was sent to the Molucco islands from Malaca. These had been before discovered by Antony de Abreu. The Molucco islands are five in number, their names, Ternate, Tidore, Mousel, Machien, Bacham. These islands were afterwards long struggled for by the Portuguese and Dutch, till at last the Dutch prevailed, and continue in possession of that trade till this day. A few years now past without any considerable discoveries by sea, though still they found several little islands, and advanced far by land, too long for this discourse, designed only to show the progress of navigation. Let us then proceed to the next considerable voyage, which

was

An. 1540, which furnishes as remarkable a piece of sea-service as any we shall read undertaken by a private man. Peter do Faria, governor of Malaca, sent his kinsman Antony de Faria y Sousa, to secure a peace with the king of Patane. He carried with him goods to the value of twelve thousand ducats; and finding no sale for them there, sent them to Lugor, in the kingdom of Siam, by one Christopher Borallo, who, coming to an anchor in the mouth of that river, was surprised by a Moor of Guzarat, called Coje Hazem, a sworn enemy to the Portuguese. Borallo, having lost his ship, swam himself ashore, and carried the news of what

had happened to Faria at Patane, who vowed never to desist till he had destroyed that Moor, and in order to it fitted out a small vessel with fifty men, in which he sailed from Patane towards the kingdom of Champa, to seek the pirate there. In the latitude of 3 degrees 20 minutes, he found the island of Pulo Condor, whence he sailed into the port of Bralapisam in the kingdom of Camboia, and so coasted long to the river Pulo Cambier, which divides the kingdoms of Camboia and Tsiompa. Coasting still along, he came to an anchor at the mouth of the river of Toobasoy, where he took two ships belonging to the pirate Similau, and burnt some others. The booty was very rich, besides the addition of strength, the ships being of considerable force. Thus increased, he goes on to the river Tinacoreu, or Varela, where the Siam and Malaca ships trading to China, barter their goods for gold, calamba wood and ivory. Hence he directed his course to the island Aynan on the coast of China, and passed in sight of Champiloo in the latitude of 13 degrees, and at the entrance of the bay of Cochinchina; then discovered the promontory Pulocampas, westward whereof is a river, near which spying a large vessel at anchor, and imagining it might be Coje Hazem, he fell upon and took it, but found it belonged to Quiay Tayjam, a pirate. In this vessel were found seventy thousand quintals, or hundred weight of pepper, besides other spice, ivory, tin, wax, and powder, the whole valued at sixty thousand crowns, besides several good pieces of cannon, and some plate. Then coasting along the island Aynan, he came to the river Tananquir, where two great vessels attacked him, both which he took, and burnt the one for want of men to sail her. Further on at C. Tilaure he surprised four small vessels, and then made to Mutipinam, where he sold his prizes for the value of two hundred thousand crowns of uncoined silver. Thence he sailed to the port of Madel in the island Aynan, where meeting Himilan, a bold pirate, who exercised great cruelties towards Christians, he took and practised the same on him. This done he run along that coast, discovering many

large towns and a fruitful country. And now the men weary of seeking Coje Hazem in vain, demanded their share of the prizes to be gone, which was granted: but as they shaped their course for the kingdom of Siam, where the dividend was to be made, by a furious storm they were cast away on the island called de los Ladrones, which lies south of China, where of five hundred men only eighty-six got ashore naked, whereof twenty-eight were Portuguese: here they continued fifteen days with scarce any thing to eat, the island not being inhabited. Being in despair of relief, they discovered a small vessel which made to the shore, and anchoring, sent thirty men for wood and water. These were Chinese, whom the Portuguese, upon a sign given as had been agreed, surprised, running on a sudden and possessing themselves of their boat and vessel; and leaving them ashore, directed their course towards Liampo, a sea-port town in the province of Chequiang in China, joining by the way a Chinese pirate, who was a great friend to the Portuguese, and had thirty of them aboard. At the river Anay they refitted and came to Chincheo, where Faria hired thirtyfive Portuguese he found, and putting to sea met with eight more naked in a fisher-boat, who had their ship taken from them by the pirate Coje Hazem; which news of him rejoiced Faria, and he provided to fight him, having now four vessels with five hundred men, whereof ninety-five were Portuguese. He found his

enemy in the river Tinlau, where he killed him and four hundred of his men, and took all his ships but one that sunk, with abundance of wealth: but it prospered very little, for the next night Faria's ship and another were cast away, and most of the goods aboard the others thrown overboard, and one hundred and eleven men lost. Faria escaped, and taking another rich ship of pirates by the way, came at last to winter at Liampo, as was said before, a sea-port town in the province of Chequiang in China, but built by the Portuguese, who governed there. Having spent five months here, he directed his course for the island Calempluy on the coast of China, where he was informed were the monuments of the ancient kings of China,

which he designed to rob, being reported to be full of treasure. After many days sail through seas never before known to the Portuguese, he came into the Bay of Nanking, but durst not make any stay there, perceiving about three thousand sail lie at anchor about it. Here the Chinese he had with him being ill used fled, but some natives informed him he was but ten leagues from the island Calempluy: he arrived there the next day, and intending to rob all the tombs, the old keepers of them gave the alarm, which prevented his design, and he was obliged to put to sea again, where having wandered a month he perished in a storm, both his ships being cast away, and only fourteen men saved. Thus ended this voyage, famous for several particulars, and especially for having discovered more of the north of China than was known before, though the design of the undertaker was only piracy. The city Liampo before mentioned was soon after utterly destroyed by the governor of the province of Chequiang, for the robberies and insolences committed in the country by the Portuguese.

An. 1542. Antony de Mota, Francis Zeimoto, and Antony Peixoto sailing for China, were by storms drove upon the islands of Nipongi, or Nifon, by the Chinese called Gipon, and by us Japan. Here they were well received, and had the honour, though accidentally, of being the first discoverers of these islands. Their situation is east of China, betwixt thirty and forty degrees of north latitude: there are many of them, but the principal is Nipongi, or Japan, in which the emperor keeps his court at the city of Meaco. The chief islands about it are Cikoko, Tokoesi, Sando, Sisime, Bacasa, Vuoqui, Saycock or Ximo, Goto, Ceuxima, Toy, Gisima, Jasima, Tanaxuma, and Firando. Hitherto we have mentioned none but the Portuguese, they being the only discoverers of all those parts, and all other nations having followed their track, yet not till some years after this time, as we shall soon see. I do not here mention the discovery of the Philippine islands, though properly belonging to the east, as not very remote from China, because they were discovered

VOL. X.

D D

and conquered the other way, that is from America; and therefore we shall speak of them in their place among the western discoveries. What have been hitherto said concerning these Portuguese voyages is collected out of John de Barros's Decads of India, Osorius's History of India, Alvarez of Abassia, and Faria's Portuguese Asia. Having seen what has been done by these discoverers, let us next lightly touch upon the voyages of those who followed their footsteps.

An. 1551. We meet with the first English voyage on the coast of Afric, performed by Mr. Thomas Windham, but no particulars of it.

An. 1552. The same Windham returned with three sail, and traded at the ports of Zafim and Santa Cruz; the commodities he brought from thence being sugar, dates, almonds, and molosses.

An. 1553. This Windham, with Antony Anes Pinteado, a Portuguese and promoter of this voyage, sailed with three ships from Portsmouth: they traded for gold along the coast of Guinea, and from thence proceeded to the kingdom of Benin, where they were promised loading of pepper: but both the commanders and most of the men dying through the unseasonableness of the weather, the rest, being scarce forty, returned to Plymouth with but one ship and little wealth.

An. 1554. Mr. John Lock undertook a voyage for Guinea with three ships, and trading along that coast brought away a considerable quantity of gold and ivory, but proceeded no further. The following years Mr. William Towerson and others performed several voyages to the coast of Guinea, which having nothing peculiar but a continuation of trade in the same parts, there is no occasion for giving any particulars of them. Nor do we find any account of a further progress made along this coast by the English, till we come to their voyages to the East Indies, and those begun but late; for the first Englishman we find in those parts was one Thomas Stephens, who

An. 1579. wrote an account of his voyage thither to his father in London; but he having sailed aboard a Portuguese ship, this voyage makes nothing to the En

« السابقةمتابعة »