3. A Father dressed in Silk
BY TWO ITALIAN GENTLEMEN (1497)
LONDON, 23d August, 1497.
OUR Venetian, John Cabot, who went with a small ship from Bristol
to find new islands, has come back, and says that he has discovered,
seven hundred leagues off, the mainland of the country of
China.[17] He coasted along it for three hundred
leagues,[18] and landed but did not see any
people. But he has brought here to the king certain snares spread to
take game, and a needle for making nets. He found some notched trees,
from which he judged that people lived about there. Being in doubt, he
came back to the ship. He had been away three months on the voyage, and,
in returning, he saw two islands to the right; but he did not wish to
land, lest he should lose time, for he was in want of provisions. The
king of this country has been much
pleased.[19] He has promised for another time ten armed
ships such as Cabot desires, and has given him all the prisoners, except
such as are confined for high treason, to go with
him.[20] The king has granted him money also, with which
to amuse himself till then. Meanwhile, he is with his Venetian wife and
his sons at Bristol. His name is John Cabot and he is called the Great
Admiral; great honor is paid to him, and he goes about dressed in silk.
The English are ready to go with him, and so are many of our
rascals.[21] As discoverer of these things,
Cabot has planted a large cross in the ground with a banner of England,
and one of St. Mark, as he is a Venetian;[22]
so that our flag has been hoisted very far away.
18th December, 1497.
Perhaps amidst so many occupations of your Excellency it will not
be unwelcome to learn how the King of England has gained a part of Asia
without drawing his sword.[23] In this kingdom there is a certain Venetian
named John Cabot, of gentle disposition, very expert in navigation, who,
seeing that the most serene Kings of Portugal and Spain had occupied
unknown islands, wished to gain new territory for the English king.
Having obtained the king's promise that he might have the lordship of
the dominions which he might discover, Cabot embarked in a small vessel
with a crew of eighteen persons, and set out from Bristol, a port in the
western part of this kingdom. He wandered for a long time; at length he
came to land, where he hoisted the royal standard, and took possession
for his Highness; then, having obtained various proofs of his discovery,
he returned.
Since John was a foreigner and poor, he would not have been
believed if the crew, who are nearly all English, and belong to Bristol,
had not testified that what he said was the truth. This Cabot has the
description of the world on a chart, and also on a solid sphere which he
has made. On this he shows where he has been. They say that the new land
is excellent and the climate is temperate; they also say that perhaps
dye-wood and silk grow there. They affirm that the sea is full of fish
which are taken not only with a net, but also with a basket, which has a
stone fastened to it in order to keep it in the water. This I have heard
John Cabot himself say. People look upon him as a
prince.[24]
[[17]]
John Cabot was sent out by Henry VII, King of
England, and this was the first English voyage to America.
[[18]]
A league = three miles.
[[19]]
Henry VII of England.
[[20]]
I.e. let Cabot take them as seamen, so as to
relieve the crowded English prisons.
[[21]]
Rascals = poor men.
[[22]]
St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice.
[[23]]
It was still supposed that the coast of America was
a part of China or Japan.
[[24]]
These two letters were written to the governments of
Venice and Milan.
