A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 03: 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 03: 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
The island is much in need of people to punish the caciques, who refuse to
allow their dependants to be instructed in the faith. Some are easily
instructed that there is but One God who made heaven and earth, while with
others force and ingenuity must be used; for some begin well and have a
better end, while others begin well and then fall off, with whom there is
need of force and punishment I know a principal cacique named
Mahuviativire who has continued three years in his good purpose, desiring
to be a Christian, and to have but one wife; whereas many have two or
three, and the principal caciques twenty or thirty. May it please God, if
my endeavours turn to his good service, to enable me to persevere; and if
it must fall out otherwise to deprive me of understanding.
_Here ends the work of the poor Anchorite, Roman Pane._
SECTION VIII.
_The Admiral returns to Spain, from his Second Voyage._
Having reduced the island to peace and order, and having completed the
town of Isabella, and built three forts in different places to protect the
Christians, the admiral resolved to return into Spain to acquaint their
Catholic majesties with several matters which he considered to be
important: but especially because he had learnt that many malicious and
envious persons had given false information at court respecting the
affairs of the Indies, to the great prejudice and dishonour of him and his
brothers. For these reasons he embarked on Thursday the tenth of March
1496, with 225 Spaniards and thirty Indians in two caravels, the Santa
Cruz and the Nina, and sailed from Isabella about day-break. Holding his
course eastwards along the coast, he lost sight of the eastern point of
Hispaniola on Tuesday the twenty-second of March, keeping an easterly
direction as far as the wind would permit; but the wind for the most part
continuing from the east, and provisions falling short, by which the men
were much discouraged, he deviated southwards towards the Caribbee islands,
and anchored at Marigalante on Saturday the ninth of April. Although it
was not his custom to set sail from any port of a Sunday, yet as his men
muttered, saying that when in want of food it was not necessary to keep so
strictly to the observation of particular days, he therefore set sail next
day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account