History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume 2 (of 4)

by W. S. Lindsay

Now to know in what longitude any land is, your Lordship must take a ruler or a compasse, and set the one foot of the compasse upon the land or coast whose longitude you would know, and extend the other foot of the compasse to the next part of one of the transversal lines in the Oriental or Occidental part: which done, set the one foot of the compass in the said transversal line at the end of the nether scale, the scale of longitude, and the other foot sheweth the degree of longitude that the region is in. And your Lordship must understand that this Card, though little, containeth the universal whole world betwixt two collaterall lines, the one in the occidentall part descendeth perpendicular upon the 175th degree, and the other in the orientall on the 170th degree, whose distance measureth the scale of longitude. And that which is without the two said tranversall lines, is onely to show how the Orientall part is joined with the Occident, and Occident with the Orient, for that that is set without the line in the Oriental part, is the same that is set within the other line in the Occidentall part; and that that is set without the line in the Occidental part, is the same that is set within the line in the Orientall part, to show that though this figure of the world in plaine or flatte seemeth to have an end, yet one imagining that this said Card were set upon a round thing, where the endes should touch by the lines, it would plainely appeare howe the Orient part joyneth with the Occident, as there without the lines it is described and figured.

And for more declaration of the said Card, your Lordship shall understand, that beginning on the part occidental within the line, the first land that is set out is the maine land, and islands of the Indies of the Emperour. Which maine land or coast goeth northward, and finisheth in the land that we found, which is called here Terra de Labrador. So that it appeareth the said land that we found, and the Indies, to be all one maine land.

Now called the straight of Magelane.

The sayd coast from the sayd Indies southward, as by the Card your Lordshippe may see, commeth to a certaine straight sea, called Estrecho de Todos Santos: by which straight sea the Spainiards goe to the Spiceries, as I shall declare more at large; the which straight sea is right against three hundred fifteene degrees of longitude, and is of latitude or altitude from the Equinoctiall three and fifty degrees. The first land from the sayd beginning of the Card toward the Orient are certaine islands of the Canaries, and islandes of Capo Verde. But the first maine land next to the line Equinoctial is the sayd Capo Verde, and from thence northward by the straight of this sea of Italie. And so followeth Spayne, France, Flanders, Almaine, Denmarke, and Norway, which is the highest part toward the north. And over against Flanders are our islands of England and Ireland. Of the landes and coastes within the streights I have set out onely the regions, dividing them by lines of their limits, by which plainely I thinke your Lordship may see, in what situation everie region is, and of what highnesse, and with what regions it is joyned. I doe thinke few are left out of all Europe. In the parts of Asia and Affrica I could not so well make the sayd divisions: for that they be not so well knowen nor need not so much. This I write because in the said Card be made the said lines and strikes, that your Lordship should understand wherefore they doe serve. Also returning to the aforesaid Capo Verdo, the coast goeth southward to a cape called Capo de buona Speransa, which is right over against the 60 and 65 degree of longitude. And by this cape go the Portingals to their Spicerie. For from this cape toward the Orient, is the land of Calicut, as your Lordship may see in the headland over against the 130 degree. Fro the sayd Cape of Buona Speransa the coast returneth toward the line equinoctiall, and passing forth, entreth the Red Sea, and returning out, entreth again into the gulfe of Persia, and returneth toward the Equinoctiall line, till that it commeth to the headland called Calicut aforesayd, and from, thence the coast making a gulfe, where is the river of Ganges, returneth toward the line to a headland called Malaca, where is the principal Spicerie: and from this Cape returneth and maketh a great gulfe, and after the coast goeth right toward the Orient, and over against this last gulfe and coast be many Islands, which be Islandes of the Spiceries of the Emperour. Upon which the Portingals and he be at variance.

Doctor Ley’s demand.

The said coast goeth toward the Orient, and endeth right against the 155 degrees, and after returneth toward the Occident northward: which coast not yet plainely knowen, I may joyne to the New found lande found by us that I spake of before. So that I finish with this briefe declaration of the Card aforesayd. Well I know I should also have declared how the coasts within the straights of the Sea of Italie runne. It is playne that passing the straights on the north side of that Sea after the coast of Granado, and with that which pertaines to Spaine, is the coast of that which France hath in Italie. And then followeth in one piece all Italie, which land hath an arme of the sea, with a gulfe which is called Mare Adriaticum. And in the bottome of this gulfe is the citie of Venice. And on the other part of the sayd gulfe is Sclavonia, and next Grecia, then the streights of Constantinople, and then the sea called Euxinus, which is within the sayd streights: and coming out of the said streights, followeth Turciamaior (though now on both sides it is called Turcia). And so the coast runneth southward to Syria, and over against the sayd Turcia are the Islands of Rhodes, Candie, and Cyprus. And over against Italie are the Islands of Sicilia and Sardinia. And over against Spaine is Majorca and Minorca. In the ende of the gulfe of Syria is Judea. And from thence returneth the coast toward the Occident, till it commeth to the streights where we began, which all is the coast of Affrike and Barbarie. Also your Lordship shall understand that the coastes of the sea throughout all the world, I have colored with yellow, for that it may appeare that all that is within the line colored yellow is to be imagined to be maine land or Islands, and all without the line so coloured to bee Sea: whereby it is easie and light to know it. Albeit in this little roome any other descriptions would rather have made it obscure than cleere. And the sayd coasts of the sea are all set justly after the maner and forme as they lie, as the navigation approveth them throughout all the Card, save onely the coastes and Isles of the Spicerie of the Emperour which is from over against the 160, to the 215, degrees of longitude. For these coastes and situations of the Islands every of the Cosmographers and pilots of Portingal and Spayne do set after their purpose. The Spanards more toward the Orient because they should appeare to appertain to the Emperour: and the Portingals more toward the Occident, for that they should fall more within their jurisdiction. So that the pilots and navigants thither, which in such cases should declare the truth, by their industrie do set them falsely every one to favour his prince. And for this cause can be no certaine situation of that coast and islands till this difference betwixt them be verified. Now to come to the purpose of your Lordships demand touching the difference between the Emperour and the king of Portingal, to understand it better, I must declare the beginning of this discoverie. Though peradventure your Lordship may say that in that I have written ought of purpose, I fall in the proverbe, a gemino ouo bellum. But your Lordship commanded me to be large, and I take license to be prolixious, and shall be peradventure tedious, but your Lordship knoweth that Nihil ignorantia verbosius.

The Pope reprehended.

In the yeere 1484 the king of Portingal minded to arme certaine Carvels to discover this Spicerie. Then forasmuch as he feared that being discovered, every other prince woulde sende and trade thither, so that the cost and peril of discovering should be his, and the profite common; wherefore first he gave knowledge of this his mind to all princes Christened, saying that hee would seeke amongst the infidels newe possessions of regions, and therefore would make a certaine armie: and that if any of them would helpe in the cost of the sayd armie, he should enjoy his part of the profite or honour that should come of it. And as then this discovering was holden for a strange thing and uncertaine; nowe they say that all the Princes of Christendome answered, that they would be no part of such an armie, nor yet of the profit that might come of it. After the which he gave knowledge to the Pope of his purpose, and of the answere of all the Princes, desiring him that seeing that none would helpe in the costes, that he would judge all that should bee found and discovered to be of his jurisdiction and command that none other princes should intermeddle therewith. The Pope said not as Christ saith, Quis me constituit judicem inter vos? He did not refuse, but making himself as Lord and judge of all, not onely granted that all that should be discovered from Orient to Occident should be the kings of Portingal, but also, that upon great censures no other Prince should discover but he. And if they did, all to bee the kings of Portingal. So he armed a fleete, and in the yeere 1497 were discovered the Islands of Calicut, from whence is brought all the spice he hath.

After this in the yere 1492, the kinge of Spaine willing to discover lands toward the Occident without making any such diligence, or taking licence of the king of Portingal, armed certaine carvels, and then discovered this India Occidental, especially two Islands of the sayd India, that in this Card I set forth, naming the one La Dominica, and the other Cuba, and brought certaine golde from thence, of the which when the king of Portingal had knowledge, he sent to the king of Spaine, requiring him to give him the sayd islands. For that by the sentence of the Pope all that should be discovered was his, and that hee should not proceede farther in the discoverie without his licence. And at the same time it seemeth that out of Castil into Portingal had gone for feare of burning infinite number of Jewes that were expelled out of Spaine, for that they would not turne to be Christians, and carried with them infinite number of golde and silver. So that it seemeth the king of Spaine answered, that it was reason that the king of Portingal asked, and that to be obedient to that which the Pope had decreed, he would give him the sayd Islands of the Indies. Nowe for as much as it was decreed betwixt the sayde kings that none should receive the others subjects, fugitives, nor their goods, therefore the king of Portingal should pay and returne to the king of Spaine a million of golde or more, that the Jewes had caryed out of Spaine to Portingal, and that in so doing he would give these Islands and desist from any more discovering. And not fulfilling this, he would not not onely not give these Islands, but procure to discover more where him thought best. It seemeth that the king of Portingal would not, or could not with his ease pay this money. And so not paying, that he could not let the king of Spaine to discover: so that he enterprised not toward the Orient where he had begun and found the Spicerie, and consented to the king of Spaine, that touching this discovering they should divide the worlde betweene them two. And that all that should be discovered from Cape Verde, where this Card beginneth to be counted in the degrees of longitude, to 180 of the sayd scale of longitude, which is halfe the world toward the Orient, and finisheth in this Card right over against a little crosse made at the said 180 degrees, to be the king of Portingals. And all the land from the said Crosse towarde the Occident, until it joyneth with the other Crosse in the Orient, which containeth the other hundreth and eightie degrees, that is the other halfe of the worlde, to be the king of Spaines. So that from the land over against the said hundreth and eighty degrees untill it finish in the three hundred and sixtie on both the ends of the Card, is the jurisdiction of the king of Spaine. So after this maner they divided the world betweene them.

The Longitudes hard to be found out.