A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before

by Daniel Defoe

I was now to change faces again, and Captain Merlotte appeared as captain, all things being transacted in his name, and French captains were put into the brigantine, and into the Madagascar ship also. The first thing the captain did was to send a civil message to the Spanish governor, to acquaint him, that being come into those seas as friends, under his most Christian majesty's commission, and with the king of Spain's permission, we desired to be treated as allies, and to be allowed to take water and wood, and to buy such refreshments as we wanted, for which we would pay ready money; also we carried French colours, but took not the least notice of our intention to trade with them.

We received a very civil answer from the governor, viz., That being the king of France's subjects, and that they were in alliance with us, we were very welcome to wood and water, and any provision the place would afford, and that our persons should be safe, and in perfect liberty to go on shore; but that he could not allow any of our men to lie on shore, it being express in his orders that he should not permit any nation not actually in commission from the king of Spain to come on shore and stay there, not even one night; and that this was done to prevent disorders.

We answered, that we were content with that order, seeing we did not desire our men should go on shore to stay there, we not being able to answer for any misbehaviour, which was frequent among seamen.

While we continued here, several Spaniards came on board and visited us, and we often went on shore on the same pretence; but our supercargo, who understood his business too well not to make use of the occasion, presently let the Spaniards see that he had a great cargo of goods to dispose of; they as freely took the hint, and let him know that they had money enough to pay for whatever they bought; so they fell to work, and they bought East India and China silks, Japan ware, China ware, spice, and something of everything we had. We knew we should not sell all our cargo here; nor any extraordinary quantity; but we knew, on the other hand, that, what we did sell here, we should sell for 100l. per cent. extraordinary, I mean more than we should sell for at Lima, or any other ports on that side, and so we did; for here we sold a bottle of arrack for four pieces of eight, a pound of cloves for five pieces of eight, and a pound of nutmegs for six pieces of eight; and the like of other things.

They would gladly have purchased some European goods, and especially English cloth and baize; but as we had indeed very few such things left, so we were not willing they should see them, that they might not have any suspicion of our being Englishmen, and English ships, which would soon have put an end to all our commerce.

While we lay here trafficking with the Spaniards, I set some of my men to work to converse among the native Chilians, or Indians, as we call them, of the country, and several things they learned of them, according to the instructions which I gave them; for example, first, I understood by them that the country people, who do not live among the Spaniards, have a mortal aversion to them; that it is rivetted in their minds by tradition from father to son, ever since the wars which had formerly been among them, and that though they did not now carry on those wars, yet the animosity remained; and the pride and cruel haughty temper of the Spaniards were such still to those of the country people who came under their government, as make that aversion continually increase. They let us know, that if any nation in the world would but come in and assist them against the Spaniards, and support them in their rising against them, they would soon rid their hands of the whole nation. This was to the purpose exactly, as to what I wanted to know.

I then ordered particular inquiry to be made, whether the mountains of Andes, which are indeed prodigious to look at, and so frightful for their height, that it is not to be thought of without some horror, were in any places passable? what country there was beyond them? and whether any of their people had gone, over and knew the passages?

The Indians concurred with the Spaniards in this (for our men inquired of both), that though the Andes were to be supposed, indeed, to be the highest mountains in the world, and that, generally speaking, they were impassable, yet that there had been passages found by the vales among the mountains; where, with fetching several compasses and windings partly on the hills, and partly in the valleys, men went with a great deal of ease and safety quite through or over, call it as we will, to the other, named the east side, and as often returned again.

Some of the more knowing Indians or Chilians went farther than this, and when our men inquired after the manners, situation, and produce of the country on the other side, they told them, that when they passed the mountains from that part of the country, they went chiefly to fetch cattle and kill deer, of which there were great numbers in that part of the land; but that when they went from St. Jago they turned away north some leagues, when they came to a town called St. Anthonio de los Vejos, or, the town of St. Anthony and the Old Men; that there was a great river at that city, from whence they found means to go down to the Rio de la Plata, and so to the Buenos Ayres, and that they frequently carried thither great sums of money in Chilian gold, and brought back European goods from thence.

I had all I wanted now, and bade my men say no more to them on that subject, and only to tell them, that they would come back and travel a little that way to see the country. The people appeared very well pleased with this intelligence, and answered, that if they would do so, they should find some, as well Spaniards as Chilians, who would be guides to them through the hills; also assuring them, that they would find the hills very practicable, and the people as they went along very ready to assist and furnish them with whatever they found they wanted, especially if they come to know that they were not Spaniards, or that they would protect them from the Spaniards, which would be the most agreeable thing to them in the world; for it seems many of the nations of the Chilians had been driven to live among the hills, and some even beyond them, to avoid the cruelty and tyranny of the Spaniards, especially in the beginning of their planting in that country.