Volume Vii Part 36 (1/2)
No. 6.--_Letter from Mr Newbery to Mr Leonard Poore_.
My last from Ormus certified you what had happened to me there, with the rest of my company; as in four days after our arrival we were all committed to prison, except one Italian, who came with me from Aleppo, whom the captain never examined, except asking what countryman he was; but I believe Michael Stropene, who accused us, had informed the captain of him. The first day of our arrival at Ormus, this Stropene accused us of being spies for Don Antonio, besides diverse other lies; yet if we had been of any other country than England, we might freely have traded with them. Although we be Englishmen, I know no reason why we may not as well trade from place to place as the natives of other countries; for all nations may and do come freely to Ormus, as Frenchmen, Flemings, Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Greeks, Armenians, Nazarenes, Turks, Moors, Jews, and Gentiles, Persians, and Muscovites. In short, there is no nation they seek to trouble, but only ours; wherefore it were contrary to all justice and reason that they should suffer all nations to trade with them, and forbid us. Now indeed I have as great liberty as those of any other nation, except it be to leave the country, which as yet I desire not. But hereafter, and I think ere long, if I shall be desirous to go from hence, that they will not refuse me licence. Before we were suffered to come out of prison, I was forced to put in sureties for 2000 pardaos, not to depart from hence without licence of the viceroy; and except this, we have now as much liberty as any one, for I have got back our goods, and have taken a house in the chiefest street called the _Rue drette_, where we sell our goods.
There were two causes which moved the captain of Ormus to imprison us, and afterwards to send us to Goa. The first was because Michael Stropene had most falsely accused us of many matters. The other was, because when Mr Drake was at the Molucca islands, he caused two pieces of cannon to be fired at a Portuguese galeon belonging to the king, at least so they allege. But of these things I did not know when at Ormus. In the same s.h.i.+p which brought us to Goa, came the chief justice of Ormus, called the veedor general of that place, who had been there three years, so that his time was expired. This veedor is a great friend to the captain of Ormus, and sent for me into his chamber, one day after coming here to Goa, and began to demand many things at me, to which I made answers.
Among other things, he said that Mr Drake had been sent out of England with many s.h.i.+ps, and had gone to Molucca where he loaded cloves, and finding a Portuguese galeon there belonging to the king, had shot two pieces of his great ordnance against her. Perceiving this grieved them much, I asked if they meant to be revenged on me for what had been done by Mr Drake: To which he answered no; though his meaning was yes.
He said moreover, that the captain of Ormus had sent me to Goa, that the viceroy might learn the news from me respecting Don Antonio, and whether he were in England or not; and that it might possibly be all for the best my being sent hither; which I trust in G.o.d may so fall out, though contrary to his expectation and intention: For, if it had not pleased G.o.d to influence the minds of the archbishop, and two padres or Jesuits of the college of St Paul, to stand our friends, we might have rotted in prison. The archbishop is a very good man, who has two young men in his service, one called Bernard Borgers born in Hamburgh, and the other named John Linscot[434], a native of Enkhuysen, who did us especial service; for by them the archbishop was often reminded of our case. The two good fathers who laboured so much for us were padre Mark, a native of Bruges in Flanders, and padre Thomas Stevens[435], born in Wilts.h.i.+re in England. I chanced likewise to fall in with here a young man, Francis de Rea, who was born in Antwerp, but was mostly brought up in London, with whom I became acquainted in Aleppo, who also has done me much service.
[Footnote 434: John Huighen van Linschoten, the author of the book respecting the East Indies, formerly quoted, and from which a second quotation will be given in this supplement.--E.]
[Footnote 435: This is he whose letter to his father from Goa has been already inserted, and who was sometime of New College in Oxford.--Hakluyt.]
We remained many days in prison at Ormus, and were a long while at sea coming hither. Immediately on our arrival at this place we were sent to prison, whence next day we were brought before the chief justice or veedor, to be examined, after which we were remanded to prison. When we had been thirteen days in prison, James Storie, the painter who accompanied us, went into the monastery of St Paul, where he remains, being made one of the company, which life he seems to like[436]. Upon St Thomas day, 12th December, 22 days after our arrival here, I was liberated from prison, and the next day Ralph Fitch and William Bets[437] came out.
[Footnote 436: It will appear afterwards that he did not continue.--E.]
[Footnote 437: In the narrative of Fitch no such name occurs, but William Leedes jeweller, is named as one of the party. Perhaps he ought to have been named by Fitch, William Bets of Leeds.--E.]
If these troubles had not occurred, I think I was in a fair way of making as good a voyage as was ever made with such a sum of money. Many of our things I sold very well, both here and at Ormus while in prison, although the captain of Ormus wished me to have sold all I had before I embarked; so, by his permission, I went sundry times from the castle in the mornings, accompanied by officers, and sold things, and returned again at night to prison. They wrote down every thing that I sold; and at my embarking, the captain directed me to deliver all my money and goods into the hands of the _scrivano_ or purser of the s.h.i.+p, which I did, and the scrivano left an acknowledgement with the captain, that myself with the money and goods should be delivered up to the veedor general in India. But on our arrival here, the veedor would not meddle with either money or goods, seeing that no crime was substantiated against us: Wherefore the goods remained in the s.h.i.+p nine or ten days after our arrival; and then, as the s.h.i.+p was to sail from thence, the scrivano sent the goods on sh.o.r.e, where they remained a day and a night without any one to receive them. In the end, they permitted the bearer of this letter to receive them, who put them into a house which he hired for me, in which they remained four or five days. When afterwards they ought to have delivered the money, it was ordered by the _veedor_, that both the money and goods should be given into the custody of the _positor_, where they remained for fourteen days after I was liberated from prison.
When in Aleppo, I bought a fountain of silver gilt, six knives, six spoons, and one fork, all trimmed with coral, for 25 chekins, which the captain of Ormus took to himself and only paid 20 pardaos, or 100 larines, though they were worth there or here at Goa 100 chekins. Also he had five emeralds set in gold, worth five or six hundred crowns, for which he only paid 100 pardaos. He likewise took 19-1/2 pikes of cloth, which cost 20 s.h.i.+llings the pike at London, and was worth 9 or 10 crowns the pike at Ormus, for which he only paid 12 larines. He also had two pieces of green kersie, worth 24 pardaos each; besides divers other more trifling articles which he and the officers took at similar inferior prices, and some for nothing at all. But the real cause of all was Michal Stropene, who came to Ormus without a penny, and is now worth thirty or forty thousand crowns, and is grieved that any stranger should trade there but himself. But that shall not avail him; for I trust yet to go both hither and thither, and to buy and sell as freely as he or any other.
There is a great deal of good to be done here in divers of our commodities; and likewise there is much profit to be made with the commodities of this country, when carried to Aleppo. It were long for me to write, and tedious for you to read, all the incidents which have occurred to me since we parted; but the bearer is able to inform you of every thing that has befallen me since my arrival in Ormus. It is my intention to remain here in Goa; wherefore, if you write me, you may send your letters to some friend in Lisbon, to be forwarded from thence by the India s.h.i.+ps. Let your direction, therefore be in Portuguese or Spanish, by which they will the more readily reach me.--From Goa, this 20th of January 1584.
No, 7.--_Letter from Mr Ralph Fitch to Mr Leonard Poore_.
Loving friend, &c. Since my departure from Aleppo, I have not written you, because at Bagdat I was ill of flux, and continued in all the way thence to Basora, which was twelve days journey down the Tigris, when we had extremely hot weather, bad fare, and worse lodging, all of which increased my disease; besides which our boat was pestered with people.
During eight entire days I hardly eat any thing, so that if we had been two days longer on the water, I verily believe I had died. But, thanks be to G.o.d, I presently mended after coming to Basora. We remained there fourteen days, when we embarked for Ormus, where we arrived on the 5th of September, and were put in prison on the 9th of the same month, where we continued till the 11th of October, and were then s.h.i.+pt for this city of Goa, in the s.h.i.+p belonging to the captain of Ormus, with 114 horses[438], and about 200 men. Pa.s.sing by Diu and Chaul, at which place we landed on the 20th November, we arrived at Goa on the 29th of that month, where, for our better entertainment, we were committed to a fair strong prison, in which we continued till the 22d of December. It pleased G.o.d, that there were two padres there who befriended us, the one an Englishman named Thomas Stevens, the other a Fleming named Marco, both Jesuits of the college of St Paul. These good men sued for us to the viceroy and other officers, and stood us in such good stead as our lives and goods were worth: But for them, even if we had escaped with our lives, we must have suffered a long imprisonment.
[Footnote 438: In the narrative of Fitch, called 124, which might easily be mistaken either way in transcription.--E.]
When we had been fourteen days in prison, they offered us leave to go at large in the town, if we would give sureties, for 2000 ducats, not to depart the country without the licence of the viceroy. Being unable to procure any such, the before mentioned friendly fathers of St Paul procured sureties for us. The Italians are much offended and displeased at our enlargement, and many wonder at our delivery. James Storie the painter has gone into the cloister of St Paul, as one of their order, and seems to like the situation. While we were in prison, both at Ormus and here, a great deal of our goods were pilfered and lost, and we have been at great charges in gifts and otherwise, so that much of our property is consumed. Of what remains, much will sell very well, and for some we will get next to nothing. The viceroy is gone to Chaul and Diu as it is said to win a castle of the Moors, and it is thought he will return about Easter; when I trust in G.o.d we shall procure our liberty, and have our sureties discharged. It will then, I think, be our best way for one or both of us to return, as our troubles have been very great, and because so much of our goods have been spoiled and lost: But if it should please G.o.d that I come to England, I will certainly return here again. It is a charming country, and extremely fruitful, having summer almost the whole year, but the most delightful season is about Christmas. The days and nights are of equal length throughout the whole year, or with very little difference; and the country produces a most wonderful abundance of fruit. After all our troubles we are fat and in good health, for victuals are plentiful and cheap. I omit to inform you of many strange things till we meet, as it would be too long to write of them. And thus I commit you to G.o.d, &c. From Goa in the East Indies, 25th January 1584.
No. 8.--_The Report of John Huighen van Linschoten, concerning the imprisonment of Newbery and Fitch; which happened while he was at Goa_.