A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
On the tenth of February 1S02, Don Vasques de Gama, now admiral, sailed
from Lisbon for India, with nineteen or twenty caravels. On the last day
of February he reached Cape de Verd, whence he went to Mosambique, and
was the first who crossed over from thence to India. In this passage he
discovered the islands of Amirante, in four degrees of south latitude.
Having taken in a cargo of pepper and drugs, de Gama returned to Lisbon,
leaving Vincent Sodre to keep the coast of India, with four stout ships.
These were the first of the Portuguese who navigated the coast of Arabia
Felix, which is so barren, that the inhabitants are forced to support
their camels and other cattle on dried fish. The sea on that coast is so
abundant in fish, that the cats are in use to take them. One Antonio de
Saldania is reported to have discovered Socotora, formerly named Coradis,
and the Cape of Guardafu in 1503.
In 1504, Roderigo de Bastidas, formerly mentioned, with the aid of John
de Ledesma, and others of Seville, fitted out two ships, and taking John
de Cosa as his pilot, went on discovery to the Terra Firma of America,
where Carthagena now stands. He is said to have here met with Lewis de la
Guerra, and they in conjunction landed in the island of Codego, where
they made prisoners of 600 savages. Going a little farther along the
coast, they entered the Gulf of Uraba, where they found sand mingled with
gold, being the first of that kind which was brought to Spain. From
thence they sailed for St Domingo, loaded with slaves, but almost
famished for want of victuals, as the natives refused to traffic with
them for any. In the end of this year Isabella, queen of Castile, died.
While she lived, no subject of Arragon, Catalonia, Valencia, or any other
of the provinces, depending on her husband King Ferdinand, was allowed to
sail to any of the newly-discovered countries; but only her own subjects
of Castile and Biscay, by whom all these lands were discovered; excepting
only such of her husbands subjects as might be in a servile capacity to
her own, or a few that could procure special licenses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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