[ ] [ [55] ] The fort or castle of San Juan d'Ulloa is evidently meant, but whether it bore that name when Champlain was there, or whether he confounded the St. Jean de Luz of Spain with San Juan d'Ulloa, is a moot point. In Mercator and Hondius's maps, Amsterdam, 10th edition, 1628, St. Juan d'Uloa (Ulloa) is placed on the twenty-sixth degree of north latitude, at the mouth of the river "Lama" (Rio del Norte). The town of Villa Rica, is laid down in the actual position of Vera Cruz, but no mention of either St. Juan de Luz, or d'Ulloa; and in Gage's Voyage with the Spanish Fleet to the West Indies and Mexico, 1625, it is styled Sñ Juan d'Ulhua, otherwise Vera Cruz.
"The proper name of the town is Sñ Juan d'Ulhua, otherwise Vera Cruz, from the old harbour of Vera Cruz, which is six leagues from it. But the harbour of the old Vera Cruz being found too dangerous for ships, on account of the violence of the north wind, it was entirely abandoned by the Spaniards, who went to St. Juan d'Ulhua, where their vessels found a safe anchorage by means of a rock which serves as a strong defence against the winds; and in order to perpetuate the memory of this happy adventure, chancing on a Good Friday, to the name of St. Juan d'Ulhua they added that of the True Cross, taken from the first harbour, which was discovered on the Holy Friday of the year 1519."—Gage's Voyage to Mexico, etc., 1625.
[ ] [ [56] ] "The boats towed our ships, one after the other, through the midst of the sunken rocks, which makes this port one of the most dangerous that I have seen in all my voyages in the north or south seas.... We cast our anchors in the haven, but as they were not sufficient to assure our vessels in so dangerous a port, we added the assistance of many cables, which were fastened to great rings of iron, fixed expressly in the walls of the castle to guarantee ships thereby from the violence of the north wind."—Gage's Voyage.
[ ] [ [57] ] See forward, pages 28 and 29.
[ ] [ [58] ] Brazil, or Brésil wood—Cæsalpinia. Two species of Brazil wood are used in dyeing, Cæs. Echinata (Lamarck), and Cæs. Sappan (Linn.) The first is the Brazil wood, or Brésillet, of Pernambuco, a large tree growing naturally in South America, used in commerce for red dye. The second is indigenous in India, where it is used for the same purpose, and known in the trade as sappan wood; in France, "Brésellet des Indes."
The origin of the name "Brazil," or "Brésil," for this wood, was long a moot point, whether the country took its name from the tree, or the tree from the country. Many early writers (and some modern) have thought that it was derived from the country. The Sieur de Rochefort, in his "Histoire Naturelle et Morale des Antilles d'Amérique" (Rotterdam, 1658), says: "Le bois de Brésil est ainsi nommé à cause que le premier qui a esté veu en Europe, avoit esté apporté de la Province du Brésil, où il croist en plus grande abondance qu'en aucun endroit de l'Amérique"; and Savary, in his Dictionnaire du Commerce, writes: "C'est un bois dont on se sert pour teindre en rouge, et qui est ainsi nommé puisqu'il est d'abord venu du Brésil, province de l'Amérique." I could cite more modern authorities, written and oral, for within the last month I heard the derivation of the country asserted by a gentleman of no slight pretensions to learning.
Unfortunately for the above theory, the names "Brésil" and "Brésillet" are mentioned in an "ordonnance" of John, king of France, dated London, 16th September, 1358. "Nous avons entendu plusieurs marchants, Lombards et autres, qui ont trait, ou faict traire hors du dict Royaume,—guerdes, garances, 'Brésils, et autres teintures.'"
Again, in the Règlements pour le Mestier de Draperie de la Ville de Troyes, 360: "Nous avons ordené, et ordenons que dores-en-avant, aucune teintures ne puisse ou doie taindre draps au laines en ycelle Ville de Troies, mais que de garde, de garance, de Brésil, et d'autres meilleures taintures," etc.
Also in the Statuts et Règlements pour les Drapiers de la Ville de Rouen, 4th December and 5th January, 1378, Brésil is mentioned, and it is to be found in Ordonnances of the years 1368, 1398, and 1400. In the very ancient MS. statutes of the town of Abbeville, Brésil is named: "Que à Selle neuve, ne sait mis en œuvre basenne Bresillé." Finally, Muratori, in his Antiq. Ital. Med. Ævi, vol. ii, cites a charter of the year 1193, in which "Brazil" appears. "Scilicet de omnibus drappis de batilicio, de lume zucarina, de Brasile," etc.
The antiquity of the name is thus clearly shown, the origin is most probably "brasa," red, flame-colour, incandescent.