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 day after the battle, 20th of May, all the mutineers who had escaped
sent a petition to the admiral, humbly repenting of their disobedience,
begging that he would mercifully pardon their past transgression, and
declaring their readiness to submit to his authority. The admiral granted
their request and passed a general pardon, on condition that their captain
should remain a prisoner lest he might stir up another mutiny. And as he
thought inconvenience might arise if they were admitted on board the ships,
by quarrels among the meaner people, and that it might even be difficult
to maintain the whole in one place, he sent out a person in whom he could
confide to take the command of those who had been in the mutiny, with
directions to go with them about the island and keep them in order till
the ships came, which he daily expected, and supplied them with a
sufficient quantity of commodities to exchange for provisions with the
natives.
The mutineers having all returned to their duty, the Indians became more
regular in their supply of provisions to us in exchange for our
commodities. We had been some days more than a year at Jamaica when a ship
arrived which had been fitted out at St Domingo by James Mendez from the
admirals private funds, in which we all embarked, enemies as well as
friends, and set sail from Jamaica on the 28th of June. Proceeding on our
voyage with much difficulty on account of the adverse winds and currents,
we arrived in great need of rest and refreshment at St Domingo on the 13th
of August 1504. The admiral was received with great demonstrations of
honour and respect by the governor, who lodged him in the palace, yet he
set Porras who had headed the mutineers at liberty, and even attempted to
punish those who had been instrumental in taking him prisoner, pretending
to arrogate an authority of trying causes and offences which belonged
solely to the jurisdiction of the admiral, who had been appointed by their
Catholic majesties admiral and captain-general of their fleet.
Notwithstanding of all this he fawned upon the admiral, using every
demonstration of kindness in his presence, yet acting treacherously in
undermining his character and authority; and this lasted all the time we
remained at St Domingo. Our own ship being refitted and supplied with all
necessaries for the voyage, and another hired in which the admiral and his
kindred, friends, and servants, embarked, we sailed on the 2d of September,
most of the other people who had been along with us in our late disastrous
voyage remaining at St Domingo. We had scarcely got two leagues from the
port when the mast of one of the ships came by the board, and was
immediately sent back by the admiral to refit, while we held on our way in
the other vessel to Spain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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