A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed BeforeDefoe, Daniel
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A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories; Voyages around the world -- Fiction
We found means here, without going up to the city of St. Jago, to have
merchants enough to come down to us; for this being a very rich city,
and full of money, we found all our valuable silks of China, our
atlases, China damasks, satins, &c., were very much valued, and very
much wanted, and no price was too high for us to ask for them. For, in a
word, the Spanish ladies, who, for pride, do not come behind any in the
world, whatever they do for beauty, were so eager for those fine things,
that almost any reasonable quantity might have been sold there; but the
truth is, we had an unreasonable quantity, and therefore, as we had
other markets to go to, we did not let them know what a great stock of
goods we had, but took care they had something of everything they
wanted. We likewise found our spices were an excellent commodity in
those parts, and sold for a great profit too, as indeed everything else
did, as is said above.
We found it very easy to sell here to the value of one hundred and
thirty thousand pieces of eight, in all sorts of China and East-India
goods; for still, though we had some of the English cargo loose, we let
none of it be seen. We took most of the money in gold uncoined, which is
got out of the mountains in great quantities, and of which we shall have
occasion to speak more hereafter.
Our next trading port was Coquimbo, a small town but a good port. Here
we went in without ceremony, and upon the same foot, of being French, we
were well received, traded underhand with the Spanish merchants, and got
letters to some other merchants at Guasco, a port in a little bay about
fifteen leagues north from Coquimbo.
From hence to the port of Copiapo, is twenty-five leagues. Here we found
a very good port, though no trading town or city; but the country being
well inhabited, we found means to acquaint some of the principal
Spaniards in the country of what we were, and (with which they were
pleased well enough) that they might trade with us for such things,
which it was easy to see they gave double price for to the merchants who
came from Lima, and other places. This brought them to us with so much
eagerness, that though they bought for their own use, not for sale, yet
they came furnished with orders, perhaps for two or three families
together, and being generally rich, would frequently lay out six hundred
or eight hundred pieces of eight a man; so that we had a most excellent
market here, and took above thirty thousand pieces of eight; that is to
say, the value of it, for they still paid all in gold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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