The great probability of a North West Passage / deduced from observations on the letter of Admiral de Fonte

by Unknown

The Circumstances of the Inhabitants of Boston, and the neighbouring Provinces, during this Period of Time since the Expedition of de Fonte, have been very different, they have not been subjected to the like fatal Accidents with the People of Lima, and that Neighbourhood, who several Times have had their City laid in Ruins, and almost entirely depopulated by Earthquakes, particularly in April 1687, and in the Year 1746. The Buildings becoming an entire Heap of Ruins, and many People perishing, must lessen the Force of Tradition, and affect, in some sort, the publick Records; and if the Marine Office was at the Calloa of Lima, the Calloa having been twice overwhelmed by the Sea, then there is no Reason to expect from New Spain an authenticated Account of the Equipment of this Fleet under the Command of Admiral de Fonte.

Those who argue against the Authenticity of this Account, must admit that he was a Person of Capacity and Abilities who composed it, and should assign us some Reason, if a Fiction, why a sensible Person should undertake it, as there could be no Inducement either in Point of Reputation or Profit: For, if a Fiction, it is neither entertaining or instructive. Neither can any political Motive be urged for this Undertaking, as the Subject must then have been treated in a Manner entirely different; so managed as to shew that a North-west Passage was absolutely impracticable, and to let nothing be introduced that would afford the least Incitement to Adventurers to come into those Parts. But it is apparent, that in this Account the Facts are related in a plain and simple Manner, without any Violation of Truth, as they are related without any Consideration of their Consequences. The Representations made, as to the Tides, as to the different Sorts of Fish that came into the Waters from Westward and Eastward, would have been an Encouragement to a further Trial as to a North-west Passage, had such Account been published; and if the Phænomena as to the Tides, and the Difference as to the Fish, was not from its communicating with the South Sea, and the Attempt had proved successless as to the Discovery of a North-west Passage, yet to countervail, in some Measure, that Disappointment, there was a Prospect of a lucrative Trade, in all Appearance to be carried on in those Western Parts where de Fonte is represented to have been in, with greater Convenience than that which had been carried on by the Boston People from the East before and at this Time in Hudson's Bay, and the English might be invited, if successful in their Trading, to make a Settlement, an Event which the Spaniards were apprehensive of, and earnestly desirous to prevent. These are Defects which the Capacity and Abilities of the Author would not permit him to run into, if he was writing a fictitious Account, as he must easily see that such Representations to destroy the Notion of a North-west Passage, and prevent the English settling there, were absolutely contrary to his Purpose. To give a greater Plausibility to a fictitious Tale, the Scene may be laid in distant Parts, by this Means introducing, more securely, Names and Characters of Persons as real who never were; and though this Account mentions Persons who lived at a great Distance, and in an obscure Part, yet there were such Persons as the Account mentions. Also the Period of Time when this Voyage was performed, so corresponds with their Transactions, as the Author could fix on no other Period so agreeing with the Circumstance of Major Gibbons being so long, and at that very Time, absent from home; and his Absence can be attributed to no other Cause than his being out on a Voyage. Here is more Plainness and Consistency than is usual in Fiction, with such a Variety of Particulars, and so circumstanced, as would perplex the most pregnant Fancy to invent, which can be no Way so naturally accounted for as by admitting that the Letter contains a genuine Account of a Voyage made by Admiral de Fonte, not a Forgery to support political Views; or that it is the Production of a sporting Fancy to contrast some other Performance, or in order to expose the Credulous to publick Ridicule.

The Editors of this Letter, whose Business it was to know whether this Account was authentick, gave an entire Credit to it as being authentick, not only as they assured the Publick in a general Way, and with respect to all their Pieces that they should publish, that they would only exhibit such as were of unquestionable Authority, but by their annexing an Advertisement to the Letter, have given us a particular Assurance of the Account being authentick; and we have just Reason to conclude they could have given us that further Satisfaction we now desire; but what they have done was thought by them sufficient, as they had no Idea of the Importance of the Subject. They comprehended not further of this Account, Than that it contained many curious and unknown Discoveries; and they humbly presumed, being Strangers to any further Merit that it had, that it would not, on that Account, be unacceptable to the Publick. Had this Letter been published at a Time a North-west Passage was under Consideration of the Publick, there might be some Suspicion that the Editors had some further Design. But as to a North-west Passage after the Voyage of Captain James, and after the Discovery was entrusted to a Company, and no Success consequent, it was generally received, many Years before this Letter was published, that to find such a Passage was a Thing impracticable. The Opinion of there being such a Passage was treated as a Chimera: And the Affair of a North-west Passage lay in a State of Silence and Oblivion near thirty Years after the Publication was made. We may observe, that there is no Art in the Composition of this Advertisement; it was inserted by Men of Honour and Veracity, who had no other Intention in publishing these Memoirs than the Advancement of Science; who, from their general Knowledge, could not be imposed on, and cannot, from their known Characters, be supposed to have a Design to impose on others. And what further or other Evidence than that which they have given could be expected from the Editors, unless they had been acquainted with the Importance which the Letter now appears to be of? It was all that was at that Time necessary, as they did not expect that there would be any invidious Imputation of Forgery, for then they would have vindicated it from all Suspicion in a more particular Manner than they have done. They thought it a sufficient Proof of its Authenticity their receiving it into their Collection. As to that mean Reflection that this Account is a Forgery of some Englishman, it is thoroughly obviated if we consider on what a Foundation such a Supposition must be grounded, which is, That some Englishman composed this Account, translated it into Spanish, though there were but few and very indifferent Linguists at that Time in England, to be again translated by the Editors, the better to impose on them and the Publick. The Publick is a Name which comprehends many Persons of Curiosity and Sagacity, for whom chiefly these Memoirs were published; and by these Persons, as well as by all others, the Account was received at that Time as genuine, without the least Suspicion of there being any Fraud or Imposture.

The principal Object or Design of the Publication was, that the Account contained a Discovery made of those Parts, as to the Knowledge of which the Geographers were at that Time very deficient; and the Editors being satisfied as to the Authenticity, all they thought necessary was to give a Translation of the Letter. And, from their Avocations to their own private Affairs, did not consider it in so minute a Manner as it required, as is plain from their Apology made as to the Stile of the Letter, not being altogether so polite, being wrote like a Man whose Livelihood depended on another Way, and with an Abundance of Experience. Whereas the Politeness of Stile would have been an absolute Objection as to the Authenticity of the Account. That as it was a Letter wrote by Admiral de Fonte to lay before the Court of Spain, what had passed in the Course of the Voyage, though de Fonte might express himself in proper and well chosen Terms, yet he was to use a Stile that was natural and simple. On the several Lights in which the Editors have been considered, as to the Part which they undertook, it must appear that they are unjustly reproached with Want of Integrity; they acted consistently, having no Occasion to say more with respect to this Account than they have done. Their Neglect was not from Want of Penetration or Design. Their genuine Characters were such as they could not suppose it would be ever suspected, that they could have any Inducement to impose a spurious Account on the Publick.

Those who censure this Account of de Fonte as a Cheat and a Forgery imposed by some one on the World, have produced no Evidence from Facts, or urged any Thing to shew the Improbability of this Account; as to the Argument they so strongly insist on that the Original was never produced, it is highly improbable that the Original ever should be produced in these Parts; and there is a Uniformity in the Circumstance that a Copy only came to the Hands of the Editors, which turns the Argument against the Objectors. The Suspicion of there being any Deceit or Forgery, hath arose from there having been different Systems advanced by Geographers respecting these Parts: Those in whose System this Account is not adopted have been the Occasion of such Suspicions being raised, and have given some Countenance to such their Suspicions from the imperfect Manner in which this Account hath been exhibited; though that is not to be attributed to the Account in its genuine Dress, but as broken and disfigured by the Translator and Printer. The Glosses and Comments added by the Person who took the Copy, and those added by the Translator in Explanation of the Text, are inserted in the same Character, and without any Distinction from the Text, and those by the Translator ignorantly introduced. Marginal Notes are inserted as Part of the Narration; Courses are omitted; others mistaken from the Translator's Inattention to the Spanish Compass; Dates misplaced by the Printer: The Translator also deviates from the Mode of Expression, and renders, in an inaccurate, confused and obscure Manner, a very material Part in this Account. Many of these Faults we may attribute to Precipitation, from the Translator wanting due Time to study the Letter, occasioned by a Persecution of the Printer, who pressed him to finish that the Printer might compleat his monthly Number, and, from the same Necessity, the immediate Publication, it may be that the Faults of the Press are so many. Such numerous Defects make it evident that this Account could never have been originally constructed in this Manner; and it is on these Defects only that they rely, or from which their principal Arguments are drawn to invalidate the Authenticity of this Account. They might have perceived that a Relation, so mutilated and impaired, must have had a more uniform or regular Shape at one Time or other: And the Editors, in their Index, when the Year's Numbers were compleated, stile it an original and very entertaining Letter of Admiral de Fonte, by which they mean for the Curious; and by stiling it an Original, they are not only to be understood that it was never before published, but also that it was wrote by de Fonte; which implies that they had a Spanish Account, and of which, as being consistent with their Purpose, they gave only a Translation: Also the Impression of the first Part, being so uncorrect and full of Faults, the second Part more correct, and the Mode of Expression resumed, shews that the first Composition is not their own, but that it is a Translation which the Editors have given us. The Defects and Imperfections of which being pointed out, we shall comprehend what little Reason there is to dispute the Authenticity of this Account, from the Disfigurements which have prevented our seeing it in its proper Shape, and for suspecting those Persons to be Authors of the Fiction who meant well; but their Fault consisted in their Inattention to the Translator, who did not therefore give a successful Conclusion to their good Design, as by rendering the Account obscure and unintelligible, he afforded Matter for Cavil and Dispute as to this Account of the Voyage, whether credible or not, and which a just Translation would have confirmed to be true.

As to the Name Bartholomew de Fonte, we may observe that when the Translator can render the Names in the Spanish by English Names which are answerable thereto, he doth not insert the Spanish Names, but the English. Thus, as to the Ships, he calls one the King Philip; but when they cannot be rendered by a resembling Denomination in the English, and the Name hath its Original from the Latin, he passes by the new Name, or as it is wrote in the Spanish, and gives us the antient Name, or according to the Latin St. Spiritus, St. Lucia, Rosaria, for de Espiritu Santo, Santa Lucia, del Rosaria. Hath rendered Bartholomew de Fonte, Philip de Ronquillo both in English and Latin. From which Management of the Translator, in giving the Name according to the Latin and not giving it as it hath been transformed or changed agreeable to the Spanish Orthography, there is just Reason to conclude the Name which is here rendered Fonte, was Fuente or Fuentes in the Original. But if it was wrote Fonte, it was in the provincial Dialect, different from the Manner of writing the good Writers introduced, which did not immediately prevail in all Parts alike, but was gradually received. For Instance, they wrote Fuenterabia in Castile, when the Biscayners continued to write Fonterabia; and it is as often spelt the one Way as the other in our Books and Maps.

Fuente and Fuentes are not of one Termination. Fonte or Fuente, in the Titles of the Marquis Aguila de Fuente, so in de Fuente de Almexi, is of the singular Number, or the Title is taken from the Water of Almexi. But Fuentes, in the Titles of the Marquis de Fuentes, and in Conde Fuentes de Valde Pero, or of Don Pedro Enriques Conde de Fuentes, expresses a plural Number, which the Translator, through his Indifference as to the Subject which he was employed to translate, might not observe.

Don Pedro Enriques Conde de Fuentes was raised to the Honour of being a Grandee by Philip the Third, in the Year 1615, in respect to his great Services in the Wars; was descended from a Branch of that illustrious Family the Enriques. Nine of which Family were successively Admirals of Castile; and the ninth, Don Joan Alonso Enriques, was in that high Post at the Time of this Expedition. There were Intermarriages between the Families of Enriques and Valasco; and Don Pedro was succeeded in his Estate and Title by Don Luis de Haro, of the principal House of Valasco, and Son-in-Law to Don Olivarez. These Circumstances considered, we have a further Reason to suspect that the Name de Fonte is not duly rendered by the Translator, as there is a Consistency in a Relation of the Conde de Fuentes being advanced to be Admiral of New Spain and Peru, which coincides with what is reported from New Spain, of the Name being Fuentes of the Person who was President of Chili. It was also apparent that de Fonte was a Man of Family, from those who took the respective Commands under him. Pennelossa, of whom more particular mention is made in the Letter: Philip de Ronquillo, seemingly allied to John de Ronquillo, who did considerable Service in the Year 1617, and was Governor of the Philippine Islands. There was also Ronquillo a Judge, sent to reduce the Insurgents at the City of Segovia, in the Time of the Civil Wars in Spain. Pedro de Bonardæ, who is afterwards called Captain Barnarda: Of him we must have the least to say; and we could not expect to be any Way successful in our Inquiries from this Inaccuracy. He seems not to have had so distinguished an Alliance as the others, and employed on this Expedition on the Account of his Abilities, being allotted to a Service not like that of Pennelossa, or Ronquillo, disagreeable in respect to the Climate, fatiguing and hazardous. That he was a Gentleman by his Descent, is evident from his being named de Bonardæ.

The Spanish Fleet was but in a mean Condition at the Conclusion of the Ministry of the Duke of Lerma; but when an Expedition was set out to recover St. Salvador in the Year 1626, was much improved; the Portuguese had twenty-six Sail, but the Spanish Fleet were now numerous. It doth not appear that the Fleets from Lisbon, when Portugal was under the Crown of Spain, were sent otherwhere than to the East Indies, Brazil, and the Perlieus; and those from Old Spain, that sailed from Cadiz, went to New Spain, and the Islands under that Dominion. In the Year 1596, when Sir Francis Drake took Cadiz, he burnt the Fleet that was lying there bound for Mexico; and Mr. Gage, in the Year 1625, sailed with a Fleet of sixteen Sail, all for Mexico, and to the West Indies seventeen Sail, besides eight Galleons for a Convoy, all under two Spanish Admirals.

The Inconsistency that de Fonte, a Portugueze, should be in such a Post as Admiral of New Spain, a great Objection to the Authenticity of this Account, is removed by the Observations that have been made as to the Name de Fonte, by which it appears that he was not a Portugueze, and their having Sea Commanders, Spaniards by Birth, with whom they could supply the principal Posts in the Marine, without being under the Necessity of applying to Portugal for Persons qualified to fill those Stations.