William Betagh

“ November 1st. “Going into the bay we spy three sail of ships at anchor: the fort fired a signal gun: we hoisted Spanish colours, and kept plying up till ten at night: being moon light, we discover a fourth ship standing in after us: we bore down upon her: she haled us in Spanish; we answer’d her with our guns; but the wind failing, and she being clean, gained a head of us. In the morning the pinnace and launch were sent after her: but soon left chasing, she being got almost out of sight. However, we really lost the substance for the shadow, our captain now steering for Coquimbo.” ”

“ And from this time a universal discontent appear’d in the ship’s company, not only among the officers, but was visible in the faces of the meanest of the crew. For Shelvocke, to improve his own design, went so far as to insinuate, that at our return the gentlemen would be cunning enough to defraud us of our proper dividends; tho’ I dare say there was none among us, who did not think it more dishonourable to mistrust a set of worthy gentlemen, than to find our selves deceiv’d by them at last. ”

“ Now this is such mean pitiful scandal for an author who sets out with the noble title of a voyage round the world, that it must convince mankind how trifling his observations have been, how ill grounded his malice is to me, and how far fetched his revenge. ’Tis a poor reflection upon a man, who in his appetite is as moderate as most are, and hardly deserves the answer I have given it. ”

“ Stewart, three more officers, and a few men: then bringing the Speedwel and Mercury’s broadside to bear on the town, he begins Quixot like to canonade it; which really had no other effect than to scare away the women and children: for the men contrary to our expectation assembled on the naked beach, and suddenly erected a good breastwork of stones and what rubbish they could find, gallantly standing our fire: but the swell giving us some motion, we could not bring our guns to bear so as to dislodge any of them. ”

“ Is it just therefore, that what a man delivers as private opinion only, shall afterwards be reap’d up and call’d mutiny; especially by one who has made every thing plunder, and ruin’d and destroy’d near a hundred men in the voyage? ”

“ And now I speak of Coquimbo, it would be a fault not to mention the charms of its scituation. It lies in the 30th degree south, a short mile from the sea. It stands on a green rising ground about ten yards high, which nature has regularly formd like a terras north and south in a direct line of more than half a mile, turning at each end to the eastward. The first street makes a delightful walk, having the prospect of the country round it, and the bay before it. ”

“ The governer, no doubt, expected some sort of return for his present: at least a gentleman like one: for none of the governers in this part of the world come to take the air, but to make their fortunes. ”

“ I must not omit that when they returnd to the bark, they found her quite deserted, and the decks coverd with blood: so that he has now four more of his men destroyd, and leaves it past question that they were murderd. After which he would patch the story up with an idle supposition, that the Spanish crew he left in the bark all jumpd into the sea and drownd themselves: Is it not as easy to imagine they saw a boat coming by before they acted the murder? or if not, ’tis common for the natives of that part of the world to swim several leagues. ”

“ I have observed before, how he abused him for discovering Clipperton’s name on the tree, when we first touchd at Fernandes; and Shelvocke himself explains the jealousy he had of him, when they were there the second time: all which being considerd, I leave those to make inferences, who have been long in the world, and studyd mankind. ”

“ And tho’ these vast dominions abound in riches, yet there is not abundance of work for the lawyers; because the statutes 264 are few and plain: which is certainly happier than a multitude of laws explaining one another ’till they are so intricate that the issue of a cause depends more upon the craft of the solicitor and advocate, than the truth of the case. Moreover, a multiplication of laws begets an infinity of attorneys and council, who live high and great upon the distresses of other people, and as often argue a man out of his right as into it. ”

“ Yet in Peru there are corregidors or magistrates in districts from Lima who find ways and means to oppress the poor Indians, notwithstanding they are perjured if they trade with them. These natives live chiefly by husbandry and working the mines; and the Spanish court have found it necessary to forbid the corregidors trading with them, in order to secure them a quiet possession of the fruit of their labour. To evade this oath, another person under-hand procures a parcel of European goods and disperses them among the Indians, who, tho’ they want none of them, must buy them at 3 or 400 per cent. ”

“ Now I appeal to any impartial judge of a ship or bark, how it was possible for the men, if standing, to row with such an oar in such a vessel: for they must at each stroke indanger their knuckles against the deck before the blade could be raised out of the water: and if sitting, ’tis still worse, because there’s no foot-hold; moreover the man at the handle could not extend his arms to fetch a stroke. ”

“ Their pretense for keeping up so great a number is, because the Portuguese Paulists sometimes make excursions and take away their people: but the Spaniards laugh at this, well knowing that the jesuits keep these standing forces to prevent any foreign power giving disturbance to their colony.
Their omitting to teach the Indians the Spanish tongue, and forbiding them to converse at all with that nation when they are sometimes sent to work in the towns for the king of Spain’s service, is plain they mean to keep their government to themselves. ”

“ Can it be believed or imagined that the Conde de la Rosa, whose property this money chiefly was, would venture so great a sum aboard a ship that was commissiond to take a privatier? I never heard, nor the oldest man alive, that a ship fitted out for warlike enterprize, was stored with money instead of ammunition. Suppose two or three honest fellows were equipt to take a highwayman that had long infested the roads and plagued the country; can any one believe they would furnish their pockets with half crowns instead of a pair of pistols? ”

“ June 23. “Find our ship to be in a very weak condition, scarce a whole timber in her upper works: discover one of our fashion pieces to be shot through, which being the chief support of the after part of the ship, we are obliged to frap her, to keep her together: it blowing pretty fresh, we dare not carry sail; having been forced for a week past to feud under bare poles through variable winds and bad weather. We impatiently look out for land, being afraid the currents have forcibly set us much to the eastward.” ”

“ This way of getting gold is much better than from the mines: here is no need of iron crows, mills, or quicksilver; so that both the trouble and expense are much less. The Creolians are not so curious in washing their gold as the people in Europe: but great plenty makes them careless in that and many other articles.
There are abundance of iron mines in Peru and Chili; besides lead, tin and copper, which the Spaniards intirely neglect, as not worth their while to work them. Copper serves for a little kitchen furniture; but most of their utensils are of silver, even those for vulgar uses. ”

“ To sum up this chapter, I shall only observe that the Spanish Peruvians are better seated for the happiness of this world, than any people I know. If they are indolent, their great affluence makes them so. If they are delicate, the kind serenity of the climate contributes greatly to it. ”

“ Here I resume the history of my captain, whom I left cruising off Payta; while Hatley, I, and the rest of us were taken by admiral Midranda, otherwise call’d general of the South-Sea.
Shelvocke having hitherto failed of making his fortune, begins now to think it too late, at least for this season. The scheme of our voyage is at an end; the enemy is alarm’d; their ships all laid up, except the two Spanish men of war which are in quest of the English privatiers: and Shelvocke probably would now be glad of his commodore Clipperton’s company. ”

“ The forty two jesuits are independent of each other’s government; and are answerable to no power on earth, but the principal of the convent of Cordova in Tucuman; who makes a general visitation once a year through the Mission, attended by a numerous guard of horse. When he arrives at the parish, the Indians are to shew all respect and joy. The magistrates approach him with fear, and a down cast head; while the common people kneel, and cross their hands as he passes along. ”

“ Your Lordships are intrusted by the greatest and best of Kings, with the important Office of directing the whole Navy of Great-Britain; the strongest iv safe-guard to all we possess and injoy. Since therefore all maritime affairs are under your influence and authority, I trust your Lordships will not refuse to accept the answer of one, whose accusation in print hath already been addrest to your Honorable Board. I had the happiness of being several years a purser in the Navy, tho afterwards unfortunately ingaged under the command of captain Shelvocke in this cruising expedition. ”

“ Tho’ many of the European powers have planted colonies in America since the Spanish conquest, yet there never was in any country one so remarkable, as the settlement of the jesuits in Paraguay: The beginning of it was only about fifty families of Indians, which these fathers collected together, and seated in the middle of the country: since which it has multiplyd so fast, that there are now 300,000 families; which at the usual computation is two million of souls. ”

“ About 100 mile east upon the Cordileer mountains, there is a vein of sulphur two foot wide, so fine and pure that it needs no cleaning. This part of the country is full of all sorts of mines; but in other 290 respects is so barren, that the natives fetch all their subsistence from Coquimbo and that way, being a mere desert for 300 mile together: and the earth abounds so much with salt and sulphur that the mules often perish for want of grass and sweet water. There is but one river in 200 mile, which the Indians call Ancalulac, or hypocrite, because it runs only from sun-rise to sun-set. ”

“ It’s very strange a man can’t believe his own eyes, or would feign a thing of this nature, which any one going ashore might be convinced of in a 100 moment: but Shelvocke hated the mention of it, and feared the truth of it, lest his whole company would be impatient, and persuade him without delay to go to leeward and joyn his consort. ”

“ He is very right to assert that which no one can doubt of, when he says Clipperton might have taken Payta as easily as he did; and so might any vessel, sending ashore six armed men, for there’s no such thing as firearms, 186 being a naked village of defenceless Indians. But it is endless for me to set the public right in every fact of Shelvocke’s history; for as the whole is divided into voluntary falshood and plain ignorance, his book may more justly be calld a romantic libel than a journal. ”

“ The great advantage of the trade of Chili this way is so manifest, that his Catholic majesty is obliged by treaties to shut out all nations from it as well as the English, tho’ he makes nothing of it himself: and it’s very rare that a Spanish ship has gone by Cape Horne. From hence arises the extraordinary price all European goods fetch at Chili and Peru: I have been told at Lima that they often are sold at 400 per cent. profit; and I may say the goods that are carryd from France by Cape Horne are in themselves 50 per cent. ”

“ This is what they call pinna gold, being clung together like a pine apple; and when this is once melted, it needs no more refining: so that a gold miner has a great advantage of a silver one; for the mercury, adhering so naturally to the gold, leaves all the dross immediately, and the workman knows every day what he gets: whereas the silver miner can’t know till a month or two after. ”

“ Zarate the Spanish historian has given us the natural cause of this perpetual drought. He observes that the south-west winds blow upon the Peruvian coast all the year round; and the ocean is therefore calld pacific, because the winds never disturb the waters. These easy gales always bear away the vapours from the plains before they can rise and form a body sufficient to descend in a shower: but when they are carryd farther and higher, they grow more compact and at length fall by their own weight into rain. ”

“ She sail’d so heavy that the Spaniards never expected she would be of any use against the English privatiers: and for that reason, put all their good able men aboard the other three cruisers, the Zelerin, Brilliant and San Francisco, which were light ships and good sailers. The Peregrine was so unable and unwilling too, that if she had not found the Speedwel in harbour, she would never have follow’d her to sea; for we were told at Payta, that the first fire from the Speedwel terrify’d the enemy so very much, that they could not tell whether they were really dead or alive. ”

“ At five afternoon came to with our sheet anchor in the gulf of Amoy. Longitude from Barbuon W. 4 : 48. Blessed be God in our passage hither, from the 24 of June we have had pleasant gales and serene weather, the winds between west and S. W. At ten the Hoppo’s men come aboard to know what we do here. Told them we was a king’s ship. They wrote down particularly our force and number of men, desiring us to be faithful in our account. The very next morning our men, in a mutinous manner, demand of captain Clipperton their prize money, alledging that the Success could never put to sea again. ”

“ The Corregidors or magistrates who overlook those Indians appointed to work in the mines, summon them to set out all together on a certain day. They generally take their wives and children with them, who, with tears in their eyes, leave their native homes, and travel unwillingly on to the house of bondage. Many indeed forget their habitation, and after the years end settle at Potosi, which is the chief reason that town is so populous, and almost equals the city of Lima as to its number of inhabitants. ”

“ If it is only allowd that each family brings them clear three pound a year: the total produce of 300,000 families will be nine hundred thousand pound per annum. Then consider the trade they have to all Chili, Peru and Mexico for the herb Camini, or Paraguay tea; where a prodigious quantity is drank, and at a moderate computation brings them 200,000 pound a year, (all East-India tea being there prohibited.) Their other commodities must be likewise sold to good advantage; and the gold dust which the Indians gather up from the washes, when the river waters have left them, is an unknown revenue. ”