Sir Richard Hawkins

“ In apprehension whereof at land, I cannot forbeare the discipline thereof, as at this day, and in the dayes of late memory, it hath beene practised in the states of Flaunders, Fraunce, and Brittayne; whereas the Spaniards, Wallons, Switzers, and other nations, are daily full of murmurings and mutenies, upon every sleight occasion.
The like I also wish should be imitated by those who follow the sea; that is, that those who are subject to command, presume no further then to that which belongeth unto them: Qui nescit parere, nescit imperare. ”

“ Is the cause you fight for unjust? is the honour and love of your prince and countrey buried in the dust? your sweete lives, are they become loathsome unto you? will you exchange your liberty for thraldome? ”

“ In most partes of the countrie, the earth is mingled with gold; for the butizias, in which the wine was, which wee found in Balparizo, had many sparkes of gold shining in them. Of it the goldsmiths I carryed with me, for like purposes, made experience.
When Baldivia and Arawca were peaceable, they yeelded greatest plentie, and the best: but now, their greatest mynes are in Coquinbo, as also the mines of copper, which they carry to the Peru, and sell it better cheape then it is ordinarily sold in Spaine.
The Indians forbid the search of gold. ”

“ For 50 the birds and vermine presently in ripning on the tree, are feeding on them. The best that I have seene are in Brasill, Placentia. in an iland called Placentia, which are small, and round, and greene when they are ripe; whereas the others in ripning become yellow. Those of the West Indies and Guynne are great, and one of them sufficient to satisfie a man; the onely fault they have is, that they are windie. In some places they eate them in stead of bread, as in Panama, and other parts of Tierra Firme. They grow and prosper best when their rootes are ever covered with water ”

“ The manner of fishing for pearles is, with certaine long pinaces or small barkes, in which there goe foure, five, sixe, or eight negroes, expert swimmers, and great deevers,237 whom the Spaniards call busos; with tract of time, use, and continuall practise, having learned to hold their breath long under water, for the better atchieving their worke. These throwing themselves into the sea, with certaine instruments of their art, goe to the bottome, and seeke the bankes of the oysters in which the pearles are ingendred, and with their force and art remouve them from their foundation ”

“ The wind continued good with us, till we came to forty-nine degrees and thirty minutes, where it tooke us westerly, being, as we made our accompt, some fiftie leagues from the shore. Betwixt forty-nine and forty-eight degrees, is Port Saint Julian, a good harbour, and in which a man may grave his ship, though shee draw fifteene or sixteene foote water: but care is to be had of the people called Pentagones. ”

“ The head iland, where the justice, which they call Audiencia, is resident, and whither all sutes have their appealation and finall sentence, is the grand Canaria, although the Tenerifa is held for the better and richer iland, and to have the best sugar; and the wine of the Palma is reputed for the best. The pitch of these ilands melteth not with the sunne, and therefore is proper for the higher works of shipping. Betwixt Forteventura and Lancerota is a goodly sound, fit for a meeting place for any fleete; where is good anchoring and aboundance of many sorts of fish. ”

“ Besides there is no yeare in which it wasteth not two millions of crownes of our substance, by convayance into forraine countries; which in so well a governed common-wealth as ours is acknowledged to be through the whole world, in all other constitutions, in this onely remaineth to be looked into and remedied. Doubtlesse, whosoever should be the author of this reformation, would gaine with God an everlasting reward, and of his country a statua of gold, for a perpetuall memory of so meritorious a worke. ”

“ And although I have heard many men maintaine, that in shipping, armour is of little profit: all men of good understanding will condemne such desperate ignorance. For besides, that the sleightest armour secureth 217 the parts of a mans body, which it covereth, from pike, sword, and all hand weapons, it likewise giveth boldnesse and courage: a man armed, giveth a greater and a waightier blow, then a man unarmed; he standeth faster, and with greater difficultie is to be overthrowne. ”

“ Moreover, pirats are those who range the seas without licence from their prince; who when they are met with, are punished more severely by their owne lords, then when they fall into the hands of strangers: which is notorious to be more severely prosecuted in England, in time of peace, then in any of the kingdomes of Christendome.
But the English have all licence, either immediately from their prince, or from others thereunto authorized, and so cannot in any sence be comprehended under the name of pirats, for any hostility undertaken against Spaine or the dependancies thereof. ”

“ Some foure leagues to the west-wards of Cape Froward, we found a goodly English bay. bay, which wee named English bay; where anchored, we presently went a shore, and found a goodly river of fresh water, and an old cannoa broken to peeces, and some two or three of the houses of the Indians, with peeces of seale stinking ripe. These houses are made in fashion of an oven seven or eight foote broad, with boughes of trees, and covered with other boughes, as our summer houses; and doubtles do serve them but for the summer time, when they come to fish, and profit themselves of the sea. ”

“ In our course to fetch the port of Panama, wee put our selves betwixt the iland and the maine: which is a goodly channell, of three, foure, and five leagues broad, and without danger, except a man come too neare the shoare on any side; and that is thought the better course, then to goe a sea-boord of the ilands, because of the swift running of the tydes, and the advantage to stop the ebbe: as also for succour, if a man should happen to bee becalmed at any time beyond expectation, which happeneth sometimes. ”

“ If a man be furnished with wood and water, and the winde good, he 142 may keepe the mayne sea, and goe round about the straites to the southwards, and it is the shorter way; for besides the experience which we made, that all the south part of the straites is but ilands, many times having the sea open, I remember that Sir Francis Drake told me, that having shott the straites, a storme first tooke him at north-west, and after vered about to the south-west, which continued with him South part of the Straites ilands. ”

“ All fruites of Spaine they have in great plentie, saving stone fruite and almonds; for in no part of the Indies have I knowne that plumbes, cherries, or almondes have borne fruit: but they have certaine little round cocos, as those of Brasill, of the bignesse of a wall-nut, which is as good as an almond; besides it hath most of the fruites naturall to America, of which in another place I shall, God willing, speake particularly.
And plenty of gold.
The gold they gather is in two manners: the one is washing the earth in great trayes of wood in many waters. ”

“ That money which is wont to be cast away in imprestes, might be imployed in apparell, and necessaries at the sea, and given to those that have need, at the price it was bought, to be deducted out of their shares or wages at their returne, which is reasonable and charitable. This course taken, if any would runne away, in God’s name fare him well.
Some have a more colourable kinde of cunning to abuse men, and to sustaine themselves. Such will goe to sea with all men, and goe never from the shore. ”

“ He that is best armed, hath him double; yet any one of them with these armes, and with his launce, will fight hand to hand with any Spaniard armed from head to foote. And it is credibly reported, that an Indian being wounded through the body by a Spaniards launce, with his owne hands hath crept on upon the launce, and come to grapple with his adversary, and both fallen to the ground together. By which is seene their resolution and invincible courage, and the desire they have to maintaine their reputation and libertie. ”

“ After much debating, it was concluded that wee should beare up before the winde, and seeke to escape betwixt the admirall and the vice-admirall, which wee put in execution, not knowing of any other disgrace befallen them, but that of the reare-admirall, till after our surrender, when they recounted unto us all that had past. In the morning at breake of day, wee were cleare of all our enemies, and so shaped our course alongst the coast, for the bay of Atacames, where we purposed to trim our pinnace, and to renue our wood and water, and so to depart upon our voyage with all possible speede. ”

“ Being betwixt three or foure degrees of the equinoctiall line, my company within a fewe dayes began to fall sicke, of a disease which sea-men are wont to call the scurvey: and seemeth to bee a kind of dropsie, and raigneth most in this climate of any that I have heard or read of in the world; though in all seas it is wont to helpe and increase the miserie of man; it possesseth all those of which it taketh hold, with a loathsome sloathfulnesse, even to eate: they would be content to change their sleepe and rest, which is the most pernicious enemie in this sicknesse, that is knowne. ”

“ For if our enemy had come to bourd with us, our close fights were such, as we were secure, and they open unto us. And what with our cubridge heads, one answering the other, our hatches upon bolts, our brackes in our deckes and gunner roome, it was impossible to take us as long as any competent number of men had remained: twentie persons would have sufficed for defence; and for this, such ships are called impregnable, and are not to be taken, but by surrender, nor to be overcome but with bourding or sinking, as in us by experience was verified. ”

“ For amongst the Spaniards in their armadoes, if there bee an absolute generall, the tenth of all is due to him, and he is to take choise of the best: where in other countries, it is by lot that the generalls tenth is given. And if they be but two shippes, he doth the like; and being but one, shee is of right the generalls. This I hardly believed, until I saw a letter, in which the King willed his vice-roy to give Don Beltran thankes for our shippe and artillerie, which he had given to his Majestie. ”

“ This hearbe is not in all seas, say they, and therefore, where it wanteth, the whales give not this fruit. In the coast of the East Indies in many partes is great quantitie. In the coastes of Guyne, of Barbary, of the Florida, in the islands of Cape de Verde, and the Canaries, amber-greece hath beene many times found, and sometimes on the coast of Spaine and England. Whereupon it is presumed, that all these seas have not the hearbe growing in them. The cause why the whale should eate this hearbe, I have not heard, nor read. ”

“ In the bigger is very good harbour, and secure: they lie in sixe degrees and thirtie minutes.
The next day after, wee lost sight of these ilands, being thwart of Payta, which lyeth in five degrees; and having manned our pinnace and boate to search the port, wee had sight of a tall shippe, which having knowledge of our being on the coast, and thinking her selfe to be more safe at sea then in the harbour, put her selfe then under sayle: to her wee gave chase all that night and the next day, but in fine she being better of sayle then wee, shee freed her selfe. ”

“ Being cleare of the race of Portland, the wind began to suffle20 with fogge and misling rayne, and forced us to a short sayle, which continued with us three dayes; the wind never veering one poynt, nor the fogge suffering us to see the coast.
The third day in the fogge, we met with a barke of Dartmouth, which came from Rochell, and demanding of them if they had made any land, answered, that they had onely seene the Edie stone that morning, which lyeth thwart of the sound of Plimouth, and that Dartmouth (as they thought) bare off us north north-east: which seemed strange unto us ”

“ The gownes being well soked, every man that could, tooke one, and assaulted the fire; and although some were singed, others scalded, and many burned, God was pleased that the fire was quenched, which I thought impossible; and doubtlesse, I never saw my selfe in greater perill in all the dayes of my life. Let all men take example by us, not to suffer, in any case, pitch to be heate in the ship, except it be with a shotte heate in the fire, which cannot breed daunger; nor to permit fire to be kindled, but upon meere necessitie ”

“ His modestie and discretion is doubtlesse to be had in remembrance and great estimation; for the ambition of many which covet the command of fleetes, and places of government (not knowing their compasse, nor how, nor what to command) doe purchase to themselves shame; and losse to those that employ them: being required in a Parts required in a commander at sea. commander at sea, a sharpe wit, a good understanding, experience in shipping, practise in management of sea business, knowledge in navigation, and in command. ”

“ One day, having ended our hunting of pengwins, one of our mariners walking about the iland, discovered a great company of seales, or sea-wolves (so called for that they are in the sea, as the wolves on the land) , advising us that he left them sleeping, with their bellies tosting against the sunne. Wee provided our selves with staves, and other weapons, and sought to steale upon them at unawares, to surprise some of them ”

“ The covetous captaine or commander looseth the love of those under his charge: yea, though he have all the parts besides required in a perfect commander, yet if he preferre his private profite before justice, hardly will any man follow such a leader, especially in our kingdome, where more absolute authoritie and trust is committed to those who have charge, then in many other countries. ”

“ In every particular shippe the souldiers are all set upon the deckes; their forecastle they account their head front, or vanguard of their company; that abaft the mast, the rereward; and the wayste the mayne battell; wherein they place their principall force, and on which they principally relye, which they call their placa de armas, or place of armes: which taken, their hope is lost.
The gunners fight not but with their great artillery: the marriners attend only to the tackling of the shippe and handling of the sayles, and are unarmed, and subject to all misfortunes ”

“ Before wee came to the Cape, wee tooke in our sayles, and made preparation of hookes and lines to fish. For in all that coast is great abundance of sundry kinds of fish, but especially of porgus, which we call breames; many Portingalls and Spaniards goe yearely thither to fish, as our country-men to the New-found-land, and within Cape Blacke have good harbour for reasonable shipping, where they dry their fish, paying a certaine easie tribute to the kings collector. ”

“ Some of our company had in him suspition to be more friend to the Spaniards then to us; for that he had served some yeares in the Tercera, as gunner, and that he did all this of purpose. Few of our peeces were cleere, when we came to use them, and some had the shott first put in, and after the powder. Besides, after our surrendry, it was laid to his charge, that he should say, he had a brother that served the king in the Peru, and that he thought he was in the armado; and how he would not for all the world he should be slaine. ”

“ Immediately when they discovered us, both upon the iland and the maine, wee might see them make sundry great fires, which were to give advise to the rest of the people to be in a readinesse: for they have continuall and mortall warre with the Spaniards, and the shippes they see they beleeve to be their enemies. The citie imperiall lyeth over against this iland, but eight or tenne leagues into the countrey: for all the sea coast from Baldivia till thirty-six degrees, the Indians have now, in a manner, in their hands free from any Spaniards. ”

“ All which being well moored, we presently began to set up tents and booths for our sicke men, to carry them a shore, and to use our best diligence to cure them. For which intent our three surgeans, with their servants and adherents, had two boates to wayte continually upon them, to fetch whatsoever was needfull from the shippes, to procure refreshing, and to fish, either with netts, or hookes 86 and lynes. Of these implements wee had in aboundance, and it yeelded us some refreshing. For the first dayes, the most of those which had health, occupied themselves in romeging our ship ”