A briefe discription of New England and the severall townes therein: together with the present government thereof — John Shaqi
A briefe discription of New England and the severall townes therein: together with the present government thereofMaverick, Samuel
History
A briefe discription of New England and the severall townes therein: together with the present government thereof
Maverick, Samuel
New England -- Description and travel; New England -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
For Newfoundland, it is well known what a great Number of Shipps and
Seamen have been there imployed annually I dare averr it hath bredd more
Seamen then any Trade the English ever medled withall & what profitts
the Owners and Merchants have gott by that Trade is unvaluable, And if a
course were taken we might now have salt from the English Collonies in
the West Indies, and provision from New England to carry on a greatt
part of the designe, and on better termes then out of Europe.
On all the Coasts of Canada from Cape Britton to Cape Sable is Excellent
fishing and full of good Harbours.
On the Coast within Cape Sable, as in Nova Scotia, Port Royall, and
those other fforts now in possession of Collonel Temple is mutch Beaver
& other Peltry gotten, and more might be if fully Stocked.
And for the Southern part of New-England, It is incredible what hath
been done there.
In the yeare 1626 or thereabouts there was not a Neat Beast Horse or
sheepe in the Countrey and a very few Goats or hoggs, and now it is a
wonder to see the great herds of Catle belonging to every Towne I have
mentioned, The braue Flocks of sheepe, The great number of Horses
besides those many sent to Barbados and the other Carribe Islands, And
withall to consider how many thousand Neate Beasts and Hoggs are yearly
killed, and soe have been for many yeares past for Provision in the
Countrey and sent abroad to supply Newfoundland, Barbados, Jamaica, @
other places, As also to victuall in whole or in part most shipes which
comes there.
Betweene the years 1626 and 1633, Indian Corne was usually sold at
10^{s} or 12^{s} the Bushell, now not esteemed worth 2^{s}, Beefe and
Porke then Brought from England and Irland sold at excessive rates.
At that time all the Houses there, except three or fower at New
Plymouth, and those which I had could not be valued worth 200^{lb}, and
now to behold the handsome Houses & Churches in so many Townes as I have
named is a wonder, And the place in which Boston (the Metropolis) is
seated, I knew then for some yeares to be a Swamp and Pound, now a great
Towne, two Churches, a Gallant Statehouse & more to make it compleate,
then can be expected in a place so late a wilderness.
And wheras about the time before mentioned wee could not make in all
three Hundred men in the whole Countrey, those scattered a hundred and
ffiftie Miles assunder, Now almost every Towne which I have named is
able to bring into the feild a full Company of Foote and some Horse,
some Townes two or three Companyes compleate with Horse proportionable
and Boston more.
And the great abundance of English Fruite, as Apples, Pears, Apricocks,
Plumbs, Cherries Musk-Mellons, Water-Mellons &c. is not to be beleeved
but by those that have seene it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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