Volume Vii Part 36 (2/2)

In the month of December 1583, four Englishmen arrived at Ormus, who came by way of Aleppo in Syria, having sailed from England by the Mediterranean to Tripoli, a town and haven in Syria, where all s.h.i.+ps discharge their wares and merchandise for Aleppo, to which they are carried by land, which is a journey of nine days. In Aleppo there reside many merchants and factors of all nations, as Italians, French, English, Armenians, Turks, and Moors, every one following his own religion, and paying tribute to the grand Turk. It. is a place of great trade, whence twice every year there go two _cafilas_ or caravans, containing great companies of people and camels, which travel to India, Persia, Arabia, and all the adjoining countries, dealing in all kinds of merchandise both to and from these countries, as I have already declared in another part of this book.

Three of these Englishmen were sent by the company of English who reside in Aleppo, to see if they might keep any factors at Ormus, and so traffic in that place, as the Italians do, that is the Venetians, who have their factors in Ormus, Goa, and Malacca, and trade there, both for pearls and precious stones, and for other wares and spices of these countries, which are carried thence over-land to Venice. One of these Englishmen, Mr John Newbery, had been once before in the said town of Ormus, and had there taken good information of the trade; and on his advice the others were then come hither along with him, bringing great store of merchandise; such as cloths, saffron, all kinds of drinking gla.s.ses and haberdashery wares, as looking-gla.s.ses, knives, and such like stuff; and to conclude, they brought with them every kind of small wares that can be thought of.

Although these wares amounted to great sums of money, they were yet only as a shadow or colour, to give no occasion of mistrust or suspicion, as their princ.i.p.al intention was to purchase great quant.i.ties of precious stones, as diamonds, pearls, rubies, &c. to which end they brought with them a great sum of money in silver and gold, and that very secretly, that they might not be robbed of it, or run into danger on its account[439]. On their arrival at Ormus, they hired a shop and began to sell their wares; which being noticed by the Italians, whose factors reside there as I said before, and fearing if these Englishmen got good vent for their commodities, that they would become residents and so daily increase, which would be no small loss and hindrance to them, they presently set about to invent subtle devices to hinder them. To which end, they went immediately to the captain of Ormus, who was then Don Gonzalo de Menezes[440], saying that these Englishmen were heretics come to spy the country, and that they ought to be examined and punished as enemies, for a warning to others. Being friendly to these Englishmen, as one of them had been there before and had given him presents, the captain could not be prevailed upon to injure them, but s.h.i.+pped them with all their wares for Goa, sending them to the viceroy, that he might examine and deal with them as he thought good.

[Footnote 439: This seems a mere adoption of the rumours of the Italians; as Newbery distinctly complains of the want of cash, by which he might have made very profitable purchases in Aleppo, Bagdat, and Basora.--E.]

[Footnote 440: The captain of the castle of Ormus is named Don Mathias de Albuquerque by Fitch.--E.]

Upon their arrival at Goa, they were cast into prison, and were in the first place examined whether or not they were good Christians. As they could only speak very bad Portuguese, while two of them spoke good Dutch, having resided several years in the low countries, a Dutch Jesuit who was born at Bruges in Flanders, and had resided thirty years in India, was sent to them, to undermine and examine them; in which they behaved so well, that they were holden and esteemed for good and Catholic Christians; yet were they still suspected, as being strangers and Englishmen. The Jesuits told them that they would be sent prisoners into Portugal, and advised them to leave off their trade in merchandise, and to become Jesuits; promising in return to defend them from all their troubles. The cause of thus earnestly persuading them was this: The Dutch Jesuit had been secretly informed that they had great sums of money, and sought to get that for the order; as the first vow and promise made on becoming a Jesuit is, to procure and advance the welfare of the order by every possible means. Although the Englishmen refused this, saying that they were quite unfit for such matters, yet one of them, a painter, who came with the other three to see the country and seek his fortune, and was not sent by the English merchants, partly through fear, and partly from want of means to relieve himself from prison, promised to become a Jesuit. And although the fathers knew that he was not one of those who had the treasure, yet, because he was a painter, of whom there are few in India, and that they had great need of one to paint their church, which would cost them great charges to bring from Portugal, they were very glad of him, and hoped in time to get all the rest, with all their money, into their fellows.h.i.+p.

To conclude, they made this painter a Jesuit, and he continued some time in their college, where they gave him plenty of work to perform, and entertained him with all the favour and friends.h.i.+p they could devise, all to win the rest to become their prey. But the other three remained in prison in great fear, because they did not understand any who came to them, neither did any one understand what they said. They were at last informed of certain Dutchmen who dwelt with the archbishop, and were advised to send for them, at which they greatly rejoiced, and sent for me and another Dutchman, desiring us to come and speak with them, which we presently did. With tears in their eyes, they complained to us of their hard usage, explaining to us distinctly, as is said before, the true cause of their coming to Ormus, and praying us for G.o.d's sake to help them to their liberty upon sureties, declaring themselves ready to endure whatever could be justly ordained for them, if they were found to be otherwise than they represented, or different from other travelling merchants who sought to profit by their wares.

Promising to do our best for them, we at length prevailed on the archbishop to deliver a pet.i.tion for them to the viceroy, and persuaded him to set them at liberty and restore their goods, on condition of giving security to the amount of 2000 pardaos, not to depart the country without licence. Thereupon they presently found a citizen who became their surety in 2000 pardaos, to whom they paid in hand 1300, as they said they had no more money; wherefore he gave them credit for the rest, seeing that they had great store of merchandise, through which he might at any time be satisfied, if needful. By these means they were delivered out of prison, on which they hired a house, and began to open shop; so that they sold many of their goods, and were presently well known among the merchants, as they always respected gentlemen, especially such as bought their wares, shewing them much honour and courtesy, by which they won much credit, and were beloved of all men, so that all favoured them, and were ready to shew them favour. To us they shewed great friends.h.i.+p, and for our sakes the archbishop favoured them much, and gave them good countenance, which they well knew how to increase by offering him many presents, although he would not receive them, as he never accepted gift or present from any person. They behaved themselves in all things so discreetly, that no one carried an evil eye or evil thought towards them. This did not please the Jesuits, as it hindered what they still wished and hoped for; so that they still ceased not to intimidate them by means of the Dutch Jesuit, intimating that they would be sent prisoners to Portugal, and counselling them to become Jesuits in the cloister of St Paul, when they would be securely defended from all troubles. The Dutchman pretended to give them this advice as a friend, and one who knew certainly that it was so determined in the viceroy's council, and that he only waited till the s.h.i.+p sailed for Portugal; using this and other devices to put them in fear, and so to effect their purpose.

The Englishmen durst not say any thing to the contrary, but answered that they would remain as they were yet a little while and consider their proposal, thus putting the Jesuits in hopes of their compliance.

The princ.i.p.al of these Englishmen, John Newbery, often complained to me, saying that he knew not what to think or say of these things, or how they might get rid of these troubles. In the end, they determined with themselves to depart from Goa; and secretly, by means of other friends, they employed their money in the purchase of precious stones, which they were the better able to effect as one of them was a jeweller, who came with them for that purpose. Having concluded on this step, they durst not make it known to any one, not even to us, although they used to consult us on all occasions and tell us every thing they knew.

On one of the Whitson holidays, they went out to recreate themselves about three miles from Goa, in the mouth of the river, in a country called _Bardez_[441], taking with them a supply of victuals and drink.

That they might not be suspected, they left their house and shop, with same of their wares unsold, in the charge of a Dutch boy whom we had procured for them, and who remained in their house, quite ignorant of their intentions. When in Bardez, they procured a _patamer_, one of the Indian post-boys or messengers who carry letters from place to place, whom they hired as a guide. Between Bardez and the main-land there is only a small river, in a manner half dry, which they pa.s.sed over on foot, and so travelled away by land, and were never heard of again; but it is thought they arrived in Aleppo, though no one knows: with certainty. Their great dependence is upon John Newbery, who can speak the Arabian language, which is used in all these countries, or at least understood, being as commonly known in all the east as French is with us.

[Footnote 441: Bardes is an island a short way north from the island of Goa, and only divided from the main-land by a small river or creek.--E.]

On the news of their departure being brought to Goa, there was a great stir and murmuring among the people, as all much wondered. Many were of opinion that we had counselled them to withdraw, and presently their surety seized on the remaining goods, which might amount to the value of 200 pardaos; and with that and the money he had received of the Englishmen, he went to the viceroy, and delivered it to him, the viceroy forgiving him the rest. This flight of the Englishmen grieved the Jesuits worst, as they had lost so rich a prey, which they made themselves secure of. The Dutch Jesuit came to ask us if we knew of their intentions, saying, if he had suspected as much he would have dealt differently by them, for he had once in his hands a bag of theirs, in which were 40,000 _veneseanders_, [442], each worth two pardaos, at the time when they were in prison. But as they had always given him to believe he might accomplish his desire of getting them to profess in the Jesuit college, he had given them their money again, which otherwise they would not have come by so easily, or peradventure never. This he said openly, and in the end he called them heretics, spies, and a thousand other opprobrious names.

[Footnote 442: This word _veneseander_, or venetiander, probably means, a Venetian chekin.--E.]

When the English painter, who had become a Jesuit, heard that his countrymen were gone, and found that the Jesuits did not use him with so great favour as at first, he repented himself; and not having made any solemn vow, and being counselled to leave their house, he told them that he made no doubt of gaining a living in the city, and that they had no right to keep him against his inclination, and as they could not accuse him of any crime, he was determined not to remain with them. They used all the means they could devise to keep him in the college, but he would not stay, and, hiring a house in the city, he opened shop as a painter, where he got plenty of employment, and in the end married the daughter of a mestee, so that he laid his account to remain there as long as he lived. By this Englishman I was instructed in all the ways, trades, and voyages of the country between Aleppo, and Ormus, and of all the rules and customs observed in the overland pa.s.sage, as also of all the towns and places on the route. Since the departure of these Englishmen from Goa, there have never arrived any strangers, either English or others, by land, except Italians, who are constantly engaged in the overland trade, going and coming continually.

END OF VOLUME SEVENTH.

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